Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019) ***1/2

You have to know just a little bit of history to get this movie. The story is built around the Manson Family murders, in which members of Charles Manson's cult committed a series of home invasion murders in the summer of 1969. They killed the actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant, along with several other people.

But Quentin Tarantino's latest isn't about those events; they simply serve to anchor the story in time and space. The main story revolves around a fictional pair of friends, fading actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). No longer the leading man, Rick is now relegated to villain roles on TV shows. With Rick working less, Cliff doesn't get much work anymore, so he mostly scrapes by as Rick's driver/personal assistant. We find Rick in the midst of something of an existential crisis, trying to come to terms with his aging career, and considering an offer to make spaghetti-westerns in Italy. Cliff seems to be more philosophical about his place in life. He understands that he has a pretty easy job, basically getting paid to hang out with his best friend. Still, there's an edge to Cliff that sometimes suggests he might like to be doing more.

Running his errands around Hollywood, Cliff meets a sexy hippy-chick named Pussycat (Margaret Qualley). She introduces him to her “family,” a bunch of hippies, mostly young women, who live on an old ranch and answer to a guy named Charlie. Did I mention that Rick lives next door to the house that Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Roman Polanski are renting? Clearly, all these characters' fates will become intertwined.

Since you know the history of the Manson Family, you probably think you know how “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” ends, but you don't, and that's all I'll say about that. Just watch it! It's a crackin' good movie, with interesting characters and dialogue, as you'd expect from Tarantino. DiCaprio and Pitt are at the top of their game. I also really appreciated the treatment of Sharon Tate. I always just knew of her as the most famous victim of the Manson murders. Margot Robbie's performance really brings her to life.

I suppose I've given up on Quentin Tarantino making another film on the level of “Reservoir Dogs” or “Pulp Fiction.” The new normal for Tarantino is this sort of capably-told, long-running, violent tale that is absolutely enjoyable, but also a bit forgettable. I can't imagine people forcing their friends to watch “Inglorious Basterds,” “The Hateful Eight,” or “Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood” the way we did with Tarantino’s earliest films. The man was a god in the 1990's. I watched his films over and over, savoring every detail. Now, once is enough.

So, if this movie slips by you, no big deal, it's not going to change your life. Watch it, though, if you get the chance. It's not one of the best of all time, but it's probably one of the best movies of the year. The ending is bound to be controversial, but remember that any story that starts out “Once Upon a Time” is bound to be a fairy tale.

3.5 stars out of 5

I Lost My Body (J'ai Perdu Mon Corps, 2019) ****1/2

The main thing I remember from shop class in high school is that every power tool had a horror story. The table saw, the band saw, the planer, every piece of equipment had a story of someone losing an appendage. In the animated film, “I Lost My Body,” Naoufel is a young man who learns the dangers of power tools the hard way. As the title suggests, however, this isn't just a story of a man who loses his hand; it's also the story of a hand trying to get back to its body.

Through beautiful animation, we see Naoufel and his hand, living life together, as God intended. We see them growing up as the child of immigrants in France, then making their way as an orphan after Naoufel loses his parents. We see them fall in love, which leads them to an apprenticeship with a carpenter, the uncle of the object of Naoufel's affection. We also see them after the accident, as Naoufel tries to heal his body and soul, and his hand makes its way across Paris to reunite with him.

This is the kind of Kafkaesque story that works best if you just relax and go with it. How does the hand, see, for example? Don't worry about it. If you simply allow yourself to experience this deeply existential story, it's a thrilling ride, and one of the best films of the year. Naoufel's story is very naturalistic, and might be banal, but it takes on extra piquancy when set against the enchanting sequences of his hand making its harrowing way across Paris. The film, by Jeremy Clapin, is based on a novel by Guillaume Laurent, who wrote the screenplay for “Amelie.” It's originally in french, but Netflix offers an english version, with voice acting from Dev Patel and Alia Shawkat. The best parts of the film, though, are speechless, as the hand learns to ambulate and survive in the city.

The thing about Naoufel is that as an orphan, even before the shop accident, he has had the experience of losing a major part of himself. His disembodied hand has many experiences, but the most significant is witnessing a graffiti artist paint, on the side of a skyscraper, the words “Je suis le.” It means, “I am the...,” and the ending is left blank, perfectly expressing Naoufel's situation. Cut off from his family, and now from his hand, he has to fill in that blank. Really, to some degree or another, it's the situation we are all in.

4.5 stars out of 5

Dolemite Is My Name (2019) ***

“Dolemite is my name, and fuckin' up mother-fuckas is my game!” That's the motto of the funniest, most unlikely action hero you've never heard of. Rudy Ray Moore, from Ft.Smith, AR, is a man most people today, especially white people, have never heard of. In the world of blaxploitation films and ghetto comedy, however, not to mention rap music, he's considered something of a legend.

Moore started his career singing, dancing, and even preaching in the 1950's and 60's. He cut a few R&B singles, but never really got any traction in the music business. Then, in 1970, Moore had a revelation. He heard a wino spouting some foul-mouthed, bragging, poetry, and he liked the way it sounded. He made the rhymes his own and incorporated them into a pimp character called Dolemite. Dolemite was a hit on stage, leading to successful underground comedy records. These gave him the cash to make a self-financed Dolemite movie (1975), risking everything he had for the kind of fame that could only come with movie-stardom.

“Dolemite Is My Name” tells Moore's story, with Eddie Murphy playing Moore with a heart and humor that remind me of his outstanding performance in “Dreamgirls.” The film may be a bit hagiographic, painting Moore as an extremely sympathetic, good-hearted character, and his success as purely due to his determination and self-reliance. Still, it's an entertaining and sometimes hilarious ride.

It's a Netflix original, a helluva sight!

Eddie Murphy shines as Dol-em-ite!

3 stars out of 5

Us (2019) ***1/2

With 2017's "Get Out," Jordan Peele put the world on notice that he was a storyteller to be reckoned with. With his second feature, “Us,” he threatens to extend that into a streak.

The Wilsons are a typical, American family. Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o), Gabe (Winston Duke), Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), and Jason (Evan Alex) are visiting a family vacation home. Everything is beautiful, but there is an undercurrent of dread. This is partly because the movie started with a scene about 25 years earlier of a young Adelaide having a terrifying experience of running into her exact double. This traumatic experience left the little girl temporarily mute, but she has clearly overcome the experience, as the grown-up Adelaide seems totally normal. Returning to the beach where she had that creepy run-in so long ago has her on edge, however. She asks to cut the vacation short, but before they can leave, Jason announces that “there's a family in the driveway.” There sure is, a family that looks identical to the Wilsons, and they aren't there to welcome them to the neighborhood.

Before this night of terrifying home invasions is over, we learn that everyone is America has a doppelganger. These speechless doubles have been living in underground tunnels, spending their lives crudely aping the actions of their twins on the surface. Now they have climbed out of their holes to claim their place in the sun.

The plot doesn't make much sense if you think about it at all, so it's best to just go with it. If you just accept what you see on the screen, it's a fun, scary film, with just the right amount of humor sprinkled in. The movie is paced right, and the performances are excellent. Shahadi Wright Joseph particularly stands out as a young actress to watch.

Most critics feel that “Us” isn't quite as good as “Get Out.” I would agree, but “Us” is still an excellent movie. Both films can be enjoyed as straight horror, but don't hold up well to literal analysis. They are best appreciated as allegory. “Get Out” was Jordan Peele's parody of black people's fear about white people, that even the most liberal of us are secret racists who want to enslave black people again. It's an exaggeration, but I imagine it draws from some real suspicions that some black people have. “Us” flips the script. It's cleverly done, because the main characters are black, but “Us” is clearly exploring the anxiety of white Americans. The allegory is that America is built on top of an exploited underclass, a class of people who may someday rise up and try to take what white people have. Once again, it's an exaggeration of existing fears. There's also the theme of class, the idea that living right near us are people very much like us, living in poverty. At one point, Adelaide asks her twin, “What are you?”, to which the twin replies, “We're Americans.” It's a somewhat heavy-handed way to say that even in this wealthy country, there are people living in squalor. Who are these people who have nothing? Jordan Peele says they are Us.

3.5 stars out of 5

Marriage Story (2019) *

This will be more of a warning than a review, because I only watched half the movie. Why did I bail? Because this film is miserable and depressing. If I want to see a realistic depiction of a nasty divorce, I'll just go on Facebook.

Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”) wrote and directed this story of a writer/director's divorce from his actress wife, and the fight over their kid. Despite any denials the director may make, it's basically the story of his own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Adam Driver plays Charlie, a talented theater director. He and his actress wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are kind of a big deal in the New York theater scene, but Nicole's ambition is to get back to TV and movies, and this ambition rips their marriage apart. We meet them attempting to mediate a divorce, but, as tends to happen in divorce, things escalate. Nicole takes their son to L.A., gets a lawyer, and soon what started as an amicable “conscious decoupling” turns into as nasty a divorce as any.

What happens next? Maybe a giant asteroid menaces earth. Maybe aliens invade, and Charlie and Nicole are reunited as freedom fighters. Maybe they have a steamy threesome with cast-mate Laura Dern. I wouldn't know, because I couldn't watch the rest of this boring piece of crap. Do you remember how you felt the second or third time you watched “Kramer vs Kramer?” Me neither, because nobody watches divorce dramas a second time, which makes me question why we watch them the first time.

The sad thing is that “Marriage Story” is not “bad” in the sense that most bad movies are bad. The cast is excellent, and the dialogue is well-written. The problem is that I didn't like the characters or what was happening to them. I hated Nicole for being a ball-busting harpy, while passively-aggressively pretending not to be. I hated Charlie for letting a woman with such bad hair rake him over the coals. Then, of course, you have to remember that this is Noah Baumbach telling HIS version of his own divorce. That's his prerogative, but I can't think of a reason we should subject ourselves to it.

1 star out of 5

The Irishman (2019) ***1/2

Martin Scorcese has been telling stories about organized-crime his entire career, and his latest film, “The Irishman,” may be the apotheosis of that career. It isn't necessarily the best or most enjoyable of his films, but in its scope and ambition it is truly a celebration of the Mafia Movie. The story comes from the book I Heard You Paint Houses, which purports to be the memoir and death-bed confession of Frank (The Irishman) Sheeran, who claimed, among other things, to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. Sheeran's story has a lot of holes in it, however, and “The Irishman” is best viewed as historical fiction.

The film revolves around Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his rise through the ranks as a mafia enforcer. Frank is a truck driver and member of the Teamster's union. When he gets caught selling beef off his truck to some Mafia-connected restauranteurs, he keeps his mouth shut, refusing to name names. That earns him respect and an intro to Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), a major Mafia player. Frank impresses Russell with his Italian, picked up in Italy in WWII, and he tells stories of following orders to execute POWs there. Frank is just the kind of guy Russell needs, and soon he is carrying out killings on Russell's orders.

Then we meet Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), big-time union leader. Jimmy has a lot of power and a lot of enemies. He also has friends in the Mafia, who value him because he does them shady favors like lending them money out of the Teamsters Pension Fund. Russell returns the favor by lending Frank to Jimmy as a bodyguard and catspaw? Russell and Jimmy become close, but when Jimmy starts to resist the Mob's demands, Russell is caught between his divided loyalties.

We glean this tale in flashbacks from an aged Frank, wheelchair-bound and in a nursing home. All of his Mob friends have died over the years, mostly from un-natural causes, and his kids don't visit him. He's left alone to ponder the life he led and the things he did.

It's a big story, and well-told, with great performances from an all-star cast. Joe Pesci, in particular, delivers the goods, underplaying his character in a way we haven't seen from him before. He gives a performance that shows he could have been doing dramatic roles all along, if he didn't happen to be so good at comedy. Al Pacino chews the scenery like he always does, but it's perfect for the outsized Jimmy Hoffa character. So what's not to like? The 3.5-hour run-time. “The Irishman” is long, and it feels long. I never exactly got bored, but I was definitely aware of time passing. Fortunately, it's on Netflix, so you can watch it over 2 nights, which is what I did. However you do it, if you are a fan of Scorcese, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci, you should make the investment.

3.5 stars out of 5

Arctic (2019) ****

Mads Mikkelsen starred in two films that hit theaters in 2019, "Polar" and “Arctic.” You could be forgiven for being confused, but rest assured, these films could not be more different. “Polar” is a violent comic book come to life, full of blood and boobs. “Arctic” is a quiet, serious survival story, and definitely the better movie of the two.

Mikkelsen plays Overgard, a man stranded in the Arctic wilderness after a plane crash. We never learn exactly who he is or why he's up there, and I guess it doesn't matter. Overgard is a stand-in for anyone caught in a life-or-death situation. When we meet him, he is using the crashed plane as a shelter, and has a daily routine of ice-fishing and signaling for help. Circumstances eventually force him to abandon his camp and set out across the ice on an epic bid for safety.

There isn't really a lot of plot, and I don't want to give any more of it away. The story is rather simple, and might be too thin to support a feature film if not for a bravura, mostly-silent performance by Mikkelsen. Similar to Robert Redford in the excellent “All is Lost,” Mikkelsen has to carry the entire film, largely without speech. That he does it so well is even more remarkable given that Mikkelsen initially struck me as an actor with only one facial expression. By the end of “Arctic,” I could recognize all kinds of emotions on that wind-scarred face.

Writer/director Joe Penna originally wanted the story to take place on Mars, but he got scooped by "The Martian," starring Matt Damon, so adjustments were made. I think it's better this way. On Mars, there wouldn't have been a polar bear.

If you only watch one icy-themed Mads Mikkelsen movie this year, it should be “Arctic.” It's a beautifully-filmed story of stoicism and determination, and anyone who has ever spent time in the snowy wilderness will feel this story on a visceral level. As for the career wisdom of doing this film and “Polar” in the same year, I think Mikkelsen's manager has some explaining to do.

4 stars out of 5

My Cousin Vinny (1992) ****

This is another classic that most people have already seen, but since it dates back to 1992, there's a younger generation who may never have heard of it. Either way, if you haven't seen it, you should, and if you have seen it, it holds up really well to a repeat.

“My Cousin Vinny” features Joe Pesci in his prime. The New York Times recently had an article about Pesci and how he's a great dramatic actor who got pigeonholed into comedy for years. I don't know how Pesci feels about his career, but I feel like he would have been wasted in dramas when he does comedy this well. His energy, comic timing, and physicality keep the film moving hilariously. Then there's Marisa Tomei. Beautiful, expressive, and funny, she's the perfect foil for Pesci, and she won an Oscar for her efforts.

Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield play Bill and Stan, a couple of young, Brooklyn boys on a road trip who get mistakenly arrested for murder in a small, Alabama town. An array of eye-witnesses identify them as the killers, and there's no money for a seasoned, defense lawyer. Things look dire for the boys, until Bill recruits his cousin, Vinny Gambini (Pesci), to represent them. Vinny is fresh out of law school, with no criminal defense experience, but as Bill explains, “The Gambinis live to argue.”

Vinny shows up with his alligator boots and leather jacket, and the only person more out of place in rural Alabama than Vinny is his miniskirted, huge-haired fiance, Mona Lisa (Tomei). Vinny gets off to a bad start, irritating the judge with his leather jacket and ignorance of criminal procedure. As you can guess, he eventually puts up a great defense, with an assist from his girl.

As ridiculous as the movie is (they manage to wrap up a capital murder case over just a few days), some of the courtroom aspects are considered quite realistic, and “My Cousin Vinny” is actually taught in some law schools. The way Vinny interviews the witnesses and cross-examines them in court is considered textbook litigation, way more realistic than a lot of serious, legal thrillers. But you don't need to be a law student to love it. The dialogue, comedic timing, and Marisa Tomei's legs make this a turn-of-the-century classic that everyone can love!

4 stars out of 5

Scream (1996) ****

There was a time when Neve Campbell was every thinking man's dream girl. She was, for nerdy dudes in the 90s, what Molly Ringwald was in the 80s. In 1996's “Scream,” Campbell plays Sidney, a traumatized teen who lost her mother to a vicious murder. Now, one year after that tragedy, her small town is rocked by a new series of killings, perpetrated by a killer wearing a black robe and a twisted, ghost-face mask. The killer targets and taunts Sidney, while slaughtering a truckload of her classmates and friends.

“Scream” has a lot of fun with the concept of “meta.” The characters are movie junkies who constantly reference the “rules” of horror films while living out those rules within the movie itself. These rules include prohibitions against having sex, drinking, or doing drugs. Doing any of those makes it likely you won't survive the movie. Also, never say “I'll be right back.” You probably won't.

It could be easy, looking back, to remember “Scream” as one, big in-joke shared with the audience; meta self-awareness run amok. This is especially true if you also watched all the sequels, which, in true horror-movie fashion, got cheesier as they went. The original “Scream,” though, is actually a decent horror flick in its own right. Neve Campbell is excellent in her first leading role, and the supporting cast is mostly top-notch, including Courtney Cox as a pushy, tabloid reporter. It's a horror comedy that actually manages to be both.

The thing to remember about 1996 was that horror films had gotten really BAD. It was just one sequel after another, full of stupid one-liners. “Scream” was a breath of fresh, terrifying air. It was so unexpectedly good that word-of-mouth caused it to make more money in its second week in theaters than in its first, which is unheard-of for a horror flick. The film showed that a general audience existed for a quality horror movie with good writing and a good cast. Did this usher in a new age of quality horror films? Unfortunately, no. A bunch of directors tried to reverse-engineer Wes Craven's recipe, and all we got was a bunch of copycat films, like “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” It wasn't until the current era that we got a true Renaissance of decent horror movies (movies like "Green Room," "It Follows,"  and "Get Out"), partly supported by the growth of streaming services that allow genre films a better chance to find appreciative audiences. “Scream” was a one-off, but it was a lot of fun, and it made 1996 a better, funnier, and scarier time to live.

4 stars out of 5

Aquaman (2018) **

It's a cliché because it's true: the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) movies are better than the DC Comics movies. Some may say it's the characters themselves, that guys like Batman and Superman are just too time-worn and hokey, but I don't buy it. One of my favorite characters from the MCU is Captain America. It doesn't get much more old-school and hokey than Cap, but the current film incarnation, as played by Chris Evans, is a complex man, with nuanced loyalties, and he's the moral center of the Avengers films. Batman, a DC character, should be even more complex and compelling, but I find that his screenwriters strain to push his dubious, repressed-rage storyline. They did hit a home run casting Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” and “Wonderwoman” was fairly entertaining,but DC remains the “poor man's” version of a comic movie universe.

“Aquaman” does nothing to change that dynamic. Jason Momoa has already appeared as Aquaman in “Batman vs. Superman” and “Justice League,” but this is his chance to take center stage in his own origin story. We learn how Arthur Curry was born of the union of a surface-swelling man and Princess Atlanna from the secret, underwater world of Atlantis. Yep, despite all the sea-faring and undersea exploring on the part of surface-dwelling humans, a massive society of underwater humanoids has managed to remain hidden into the modern day. Now their leader, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), has had enough of living in the watery shadows. He has hatched a plot to unite the seven underwater kingdoms to wage war on the surface.

Arthur, meanwhile, is somewhat aware of his Atlantean heritage. He grew up motherless, with stories from his lighthouse-keeping father, and with occasional visits from an Atlantan royal advisor named Vulko (Willem Dafoe.) Vulko taught Arthur about his aquatic powers, and now the adult Arthur spends his time fighting injustices at sea, where he makes an enemy of a pirate named Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Princess Mera (Amber Heard) sneaks out of Atlantis to recruit Arthur to come challenge Orm for the crown and prevent the war.

One thing I really loved about the series “Game of Thrones” is that it showed the inherent instability of a hereditary monarchy. Most films and movies like to romanticize the whole “one true king” idea. “Game of Thrones” showed what happens when you give one person absolute power. If you luck up, and they aren't corrupted by that power, and they rule wisely and justly, it's unlikely that a country will keep getting that lucky generation after generation. Eventually you get a despot, and meanwhile you've got relatives thinking they have a claim to the throne, starting wars and such. We shouldn't have needed GoT to remind us of this. It's in all the history books, but for some reason, Hollywood loves to go back to the idea of One who is destined to rule. “Aquaman” goes all in on monarchy. Ultimately, it's about who has the “right” to rule Atlantis, Arthur or Orm, and it has to be decided by single combat. Never once does the film question that dogma.

If you can get past the obsession with monarchy and suspend your disbelief over the idea of a hidden, undersea society, then you have to deal with the lame dialog and weak acting. Jason Momoa is very charismatic, but not quite enough to carry the entire movie on his wide shoulders. Amber Heard looks swell, but she can't act her way out of a wet paper sack. She looks like an Oscar contender, however, next to the wooden Patrick Wilson, whose stiff acting is the perfect match for his one-dimensional character. “Aquaman” manages to make even good actors like Willem Dafoe and Nicole Kidman look bad.

The one thing “Aquaman” has going for it is visual effects. The battle scenes and sea monsters look great (as does Amber Heard's cleavage). It's an okay movie to watch while working out, but once the blood starts flowing to your brain instead of your quads, you will want to turn it off.

2 stars out of 5