Moana 2 overcomes shaky start
Moana 2, which was initially destined for the Disney+ streaming service, has been spruced up a
bit and is being released in theaters just in time for Thanksgiving. It’s a
savvy move, what with moms and dads looking for something to do with their
suddenly school-free children. Its success is as assured as Santa eating all
the cookies left for him.
Giving credit where it’s due, Moana 2 has the look of
an animated feature, unlike the straight-to-video sequels the studios used to
quickly knock out with alarming regularity. There’s a glossy sheen to the
production that points to no expense being spared in bringing it to life and lends
it a degree of credibility. However, after seeing it, I couldn’t help but
wonder if any money was spent to ensure the script was up to par with the
visuals.
Much like the first film, Moana (voice by Auli’I Cravalho)
is sent on a quest, though this journey is of greater consequence. As her
tribe’s designated wayfinder, the responsibility falls to her to rectify an
ancient curse. Centuries ago, an angry,
jealous god, Kakamora, separated the main islands of the Pacific, cutting the
various cultures they contained off from one another. In preventing them from
consolidating, this gave him more power. So, when Moana tells her father of a
vision she has showing their village decimated and empty in the near future,
he tells her the only way to avoid this fate is to reunite the various tribes.
Unfortunately, this is going to prove quite difficult as the
island that served as a hub for the ocean channels that connected all the other
islands has been sunk. The only way the curse can be lifted is if Moana sets foot
on it. To solve this rather large problem, she sets out to find her demigod
buddy, Maui (Dwayne Johnson), knowing full well he has the strength to haul this
lost island from the depths of the ocean.
As quests go, it’s not bad.
The backstory is intriguing, and the scope of the adventure is worthy of
our attention. However, the script by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller
contains far too many distractions, its narrative tangents far from
interesting. Moana’s small crew for the voyage, Loto (Rose Matafeo), Moni
(Hualalai Chung) and Kele (David Fane) are a rather bland bunch, their
disparate personalities not generating enough tension or humor, while the
slapstick routines they’re put through are tired and unimaginative. Even worse,
what is supposed to be a gripping, dramatic event – a gigantic clam that
swallows them and their catamaran whole – instead brings the film to a
screeching halt.
Surprisingly, there’s life in the third act once Moana, Maui
and the others do battle with Kakamora’s might and their efforts to raise the
island prove futile. The dark turn the story takes is a welcome respite from
the relentless cheeriness and bland songs – not a keeper in the bunch – that
populate the movie’s first hour. And while there’s no doubt how it will all
turn out, at the very least our heroine earns her victory.
Again, no surprises here. It’s a Disney animated movie and
contains all that label has come to be associated with. All the boxes are checked as there’s a plucky
heroine, plenty of comic relief, an animal sidekick (that chicken Hei Hei is
pretty darn funny) and a worthwhile message. Putting aside our differences and
finding the ability to work in unity is a timely theme, one Moana 2 adequately delivers to its young audience.
Nutcrackers fails to inspire
Having not taken a leading role in over seven years, it’s
surprising that Ben Stiller would return in something as pedestrian as David
Gordon Green’s Nutcrackers. Predictable and bland, the film is obvious
in its intent as the script by Leland Douglas is a by-the-numbers construct, a
holiday film wanting to move us by witnessing a hollow character’s redemption.
A bit of a spark is provided by four child actors, amateurs all, whose
unaffected nature lends a bit of authenticity to this tepid affair. But that’s
far from enough to breathe any life into this moribund enterprise.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before… Michael (Stiller) is
a high-flying businessman from Chicago who’s about to close a major deal he’s
been working on for six years. However, the weekend before a crucial deadline,
he finds himself in rural Ohio. Seems his sister, who he’s been estranged from,
has died, along with her husband, in an auto accident. They’ve let behind four
orphan sons. Michael thinks he’s been called to the sticks to simply sign
papers authorizing their being moved to a foster family.
However, as fate (i.e., lazy writing) would have it, this
arrangement has fallen through. This news is delivered by Gretchen (Linda
Cardellini), a comely social worker who, were Douglas concerned about
expediency, should wear a sign around her neck saying “Love Interest.” Before
you can say, “How much longer is this movie?” Michael is stuck in a cluttered,
rundown farm looking after four nephews he doesn’t know, his business deal in
jeopardy.
Oh, the shenanigans that take place! Look at Michael chase a
chicken around in his business clothes! Watch the city slicker fall into a lake
when his nephews trick him into rowing to the middle of it in search of a
strong phone signal! Gasp in surprise as the boys take their uncle’s sportscar
for a joy ride! And get ready for your sides to split in laughter when old
Mike steps into a pile of dog dodo! Boy, this guy sure is out of place!
As this rote exercise plays out, the Jansons, Arlo, Atlas,
Homer and Ulysses, provide brief moments of interest as the nephews, Simon,
Samuel, Justice and Steve, respectively. Each making their film debut, the raw
quality they bring to their roles provides a bit of spontaneity that’s welcome.
One gets the sense Green didn’t have the quartet memorize their lines as much
as give them a general idea of what to say and let them phrase things as they
would. The unpredictable nature of their scenes is of mild interest, their
grilling their uncle about sex being a highlight.
However, there simply aren’t enough moments like this to
lend the film the sort of energy that makes retread material seem fresh. Nutcrackers
is not a sign Green is moving towards realizing his early potential nor is
it an auspicious return for Stiller. No, this is a throwaway exercise unworthy
of their talents and certainly not worth any viewers’ time. Streaming on Hulu.
Blitz inexplicably fails to move
Steve McQueen’s Blitz seemingly has all the elements
in place to deliver a moving tale of survival during a time of great social
upheaval. Set in London during World War
II, its production design is meticulously rendered, features two solid lead
performances as well as numerous memorable supporting turns and has a story
that should be gripping from the first frame to the last.
Yet, it’s a curiously inert piece of work, a movie that
defies expectations as well as its own DNA as it proves to be a dull,
uninvolving film that taxes your patience rather than tug at your heartstrings.
As the German bombings increase in frequency, Rita (Saoirse
Ronan) is forced to do something she’s been dreading. Fearing for her son
George’s (Elliott Heffernan) safety, she reluctantly turns him over to a
government agency that will transport him to the rural part of the country. There
he will stay with a foster family until the war is over. Resentful, the boy
will not speak to his mother as she takes him to the station, only breaking his
silence to say that he hates her.
Afraid but determined, the boy jumps off the train after
nearly a day’s journey, setting out to return to London. So begins a Dickensian
journey in which George meets a wide variety of characters – some kind, others
frightful – as he attempts to be reunited with his mother. Among others, he
encounters a trio of brothers who are also on the lam, a kindly police officer
(Benjamin Clementine) and a group of scavengers led by a bloke (Stephen Graham)
who makes Fagin look like a choirboy.
George’s journey is intercut with scenes of Rita grieving
and worrying, as well as flashbacks in which we learn how she met her husband
and why he is no longer in the picture.
There is also the suggestion she’s involved in protests regarding the
government taking further steps to keep its citizens safe.
This cutting back and forth prevents George’s story from
building any momentum and keeps the viewer at arm’s length as well. Equally
troubling is McQueen’s script, which is made up of half-developed ideas and
characters. Because of this, we’re never allowed to learn enough about the
people George encounters to become invested in them. The film moves in fits and
starts, giving us the beginnings of great subplots, only to abandon them before
they are fully formed.
Because of the film’s erratic pacing and McQueen’s inability
to draw more out of his young actor, what should have been a heart-rending,
tear-inducing climax lands with a thud. Instead of being moved, Blitz winds
up being a handsome misfire, a movie that fails to fully flesh out its
characters, so that we might become engaged in their respective plights Streaming
on Apple TV +.
This article appears in Winter Guide 2024.
