“Lies are best based on truth”
The caper or heist film is one of the sub-genres of action that has a lot to offer thematically and stylistically if done correctly. If we think back to “To Catch a Thief” or even the “Oceans”-series, the world these stories show are a reflection of a society based on materialism and property, with the thieves sharing the same obsession as the owners of the object they want to steal. On the other hand, given its potential to be an ensemble piece, the caper/heist feature also offers actors the chance to shine. Steve Yuen’s “The Moon Thieves”, the director’s third feature, tries to combine the two aspects of the genre, but fails to offer some depth to its otherwise intriguing premise.
Uncle (Keung To) is a major player in the Hong Kong underworld and he is also a successful dealer in fake and real watches. Upon hearing three prestigious watches owned by painter Pablo Picasso will be auctioned in Tokyo, he recruits a crew to steal them and exchange them with counterfeits. Chief (Louis Cheng), a loyal follower to Uncle’s father, is the leader of the crew which also consists of Mario (Michael Ning), an explosive expert, Vincent (Edan Lui), a master counterfeiter, and finally Yoh (Anson Lo), a safe-cracker. Chief and Mario are somewhat skeptical of the two younger members of the team, especially Vincent who has issues with the whole undertaking and prefers to not be part of the heist itself.
However, he changes his mind upon seeing the contents of the safe where the watches are kept. Among the Picasso watches, there is also the infamous Moonwatch, which was supposedly worn by Buzz Aldrin upon walking on the moon for the first time in 1969. During a fireworks festival, the heist takes place and despite a few hiccups, everything goes largely as planned. But when one of the thieves also takes the precious Moonwatch, this sets in motion a series of events, as a Japanese businessman and crime lord is unwilling to give up on his property this easily.
While the premise of having a crew of thieves stealing three watches does not sound thrilling at first glance, Yuen’s film manages to make this idea attractive from the very first minute on. As we are introduced to the character of Vincent, we also delve deep into the world of watches, the art of making a “frankenwatch” using vintage parts from other watches and ultimately selling it to some rather shady looking individuals. The fast-paced editing and overall glossy aesthetics emphasize the image of a world of prestige and property, but also one easy to fool by a shiny surface, which is essentially the core of “The Moon Thieves”. Consequently, the characters go through various episodes in which they con their targets, deceive them and come up with such elaborate schemes that more than once seem a little pointless. Thanks to the performances of the cast, this is done in a way which is quite entertaining and even has some humorous interactions.
At the same time, this elaborate magic-show, which is another way to describe “The Moon Thieves”, becomes stale after a while. In the second part of the feature, the action elements take up much more space, making it look and feel more like every other blockbuster. It is still solid, especially the shooting and the stunts, but then again you cannot help but wonder whether there could have been more depth to some elements of “The Moon Thieves”. The characters, while some of them seem to have an interesting backstory, are more or less the conventional band of lowlifes and con-artists we have come to expect from the genre. Additionally, you cannot help but wonder about some of the casting decisions, especially Keung To as Uncle, who tries to give his best shot at being an intimidating mobster, but lacks credibility due to his young age and delivery.
“The Moon Thieves” is a solid caper/heist movie with some interesting ideas, which fail to fully materialize resulting in an ultimately conventional finale. Undoubtedly, there is a lot of fun to be had with Steve Yuen’s film, but it will also likely be forgotten soon after watching.
1 of 5 | Lily-Rose Depp falls under the spell of “Nosferatu.” Photo courtesy of Focus Features LLC
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (UPI) — The 1922 silent film Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, in theaters Dec. 25, showcases the blatant similarities in a gritty period piece, while crediting both the silent film and Bram Stoker this time.
Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) visits Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgard) to sign paperwork for a house in Germany. Orlock keeps Thomas prisoner while conspiring to seduce Thomas’ wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp).
Orlock even takes a boat to Germany and crashes it onto the shore, like the Demeter. The Hutters’ friends, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin), consult Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) for his expertise in dealing with cases like Orlock’s.
There has never been an adaptation of Nosferatu or Dracula in Eggers’ gritty period style, so that is the justification for this incarnation. Even Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Dracula was glamorized and stylized.
So, the world of 1838 Germany is as authentic as Eggers ‘colonial horror, The Vvitch, his 19th-century American drama, The Lighthouse, or Norse era The Northman. Eggers builds atmosphere with Thomas’ gradual approach to Orlock in evocative settings like woodsy crossroads and a snowy courtyard.
The language is just period enough to sound historic, but not so dense that it’s challenging to understand. Prof. Von Franz says, “I have hither come to help you” and “I entreat you to excuse me,” and the words “hither” and “entreat” sound historical.
Orlock still has sharp features, but is not a caricature like the silent film. He is animalistic, but does not do an exaggerated silent movie walk.
This vampire bites his victims in the chest, not the neck, which is an arbitrary difference. He is not seductive like Stoker’s Count, rather aggressively taunting Ellen that she will be his eventually.
Depp is tasked with a physical performance like a character in an Exorcist movie with convulsions that must be hard on the body once, let alone in multiple takes. Eggers also accurately conveys nightmare logic with sudden changes in characters’ perceptions.
This Nosferatu is sexual, which certainly wasn’t allowed in the silent era, but nightmare visions still interrupt the act. This is not romantic; it is 100% horror.
Nosferatu does have an ending different from Dracula, so some twists occur to surprise scholars of the source material. Ultimately, the film delivers a period-authentic vampire tale faithful to both sources.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
2016’s “Moana” is probably my favorite animated Disney movie of the modern era. I have plenty of nice things to say about “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” “Encanto,” and several others, but “Moana,” with its timelessly-relatable main character, sharp physical comedy, and multiple memorable songs, puts it just a coir above the competition. When an evidently-rushed sequel was announced earlier this year, I became nervous. What if the new film was so disappointing that it affected my opinion of the original? Now that I’ve seen the film, I’m happy to report that my enjoyment of the original is not tarnished by this underwhelming sequel.
The film takes place three years after the original, with Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) now her island’s premier wayfinder, or boat navigator. The community is thriving, and she’s gradually finding clues that will hopefully lead her to discover more islands with communities that can be joined. But she receives a vision that if she doesn’t find far-off island Motufetu very soon, everything she holds dear will be lost. She throws together a mission with a ragtag crew that includes overeager builder Loto (Rose Matafeo), grumpy farmer Kele (David Fane), oafish historian Moni (Hualālai Chung), pet pig Pua, and chicken Heihei, and sets off on an adventure with more self-doubt than she’s ever had in her life.
Along the way, she meets up with an old enemy: the tribe of sentient coconuts known as Kakamora. The two sides battle until they discover that they both need somebody to find Motufetu, at which point one of the Kakamora joins the quest as an enforcer. Not long after, the crew find themselves swallowed by a giant clam, which is home base for new villain Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), who has abducted Moana’s former ally, the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). It turns out that Matangi needs Moana to find Motufetu as well, though her motivations probably aren’t as pure as the Kakumora just wanting to find their way home. With Maui now officially on the crew, it’s a race to reach Motufetu before unhappy god Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i) can stop them with his storm-conjuring powers.
Slowly but surely, the downgrades from the first movie come to light. New songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear try valiantly to give Moana an anthem as powerful as “How Far I’ll Go,” but “Beyond” falls just a bit short. “Get Lost” from Matangi isn’t quite as memorable a villain song as “Shiny.” And as far as Maui goes, “Can I Get A Chee Hoo?” is a fall off a cliff from “You’re Welcome” that matches Johnson’s own falling star power. His tired, somehow-mugging-for-the-camera-even-in-animation schtick is probably the worst thing about this movie, other than an inexplicable overreliance on gags that involve creatures excreting from various orifices.
The movie still gets a recommendation from me. Cravalho is great as always, the new characters are compelling enough, the jokes hit at an acceptable ratio, and there’s an overall agreeable tone for an animated adventure. There’s nothing here that makes me want to turn against the “Moana” brand, which is good because we’re going to be getting a lot more of it in the future. Supposedly this movie was supposed to be the first few installments of a television miniseries, and harsher critics will say that it should have been stuck on television. I don’t agree with that assessment, I think theaters are lucky to have “Moana 2,” even if it’s a step down from the original. But Moana’s journey is clearly far from over, and however it continues, I hope it doesn’t lose any more magic than it already has.
Grade: B-
“Moana 2” is rated PG for action/peril. Its running time is 100 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.
As this year’s film festival circuit winds down and awards season commences, we seem to already be receiving 2024’s equivalent of Paul Haggis’ Crash (2004) and Peter Farrelly’s Green Book (2018). It’s a movie that intends to be morally progressive but is too flawed and ignorant to actually make a difference.
When Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez made a splash at Cannes, Telluride and Toronto this past year, many critics and pundits predicted Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and even Selena Gomez might get Oscar nominations. But as the picture hits select theaters and streaming this month, movie fans have been roasting the film.
This is a great cast directed by the same filmmaker of acclaimed dramas like A Prophet (2009), Rust and Bone (2012) and Dheepan (2015). What went wrong?
In present day Mexico City, Rita Mora (Saldaña) is a struggling lawyer who has to take whichever clients she can get, even if it means going against her own beliefs. After she begrudgingly helps a murderer get off the hook, she receives a secret offer from a local cartel leader, Juan De Monte (Gascón), to help find him a surgeon so he can fulfill his desire to transition into a woman and leave behind his kingpin reputation.
After succeeding at his offer, Rita takes her large payment to expand her law career and Juan begins going by ‘Emilia Pérez.’ When the two bump into each other four years later while Rita is living in London, she discovers Emilia wants to reconnect with her kids from her estranged wife, Jessi (Gomez).
Édgar Ramírez appears as Jessi’s lover after Juan/Emilia leaves the family to start a new life. Emilia Pérez is loosely based off Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute as well as an expansion of Audiard’s own 2021 opera also titled Emilia Pérez. While the new foreign film has all the potentialwith the talented actors and flashy visuals, the story and character arcs are just too convoluted to naturally come together.
A big problem is that — besides the dialogue being primarily Spanish, the cast being mostly Hispanic, and Gascón being trans — no one behind the scenes is actually Latino or a part of the LGBTQ community. This is a CIS and French-directed, written and produced feature and it shows.
Obviously artists are allowed to set their work outside of their own home or orientation, but the problem here is that it’s just really obvious the creators don’t have any actual experience or association with either representation here. On top of all this, Emilia Pérez is — like Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux — a musical made by people who clearly aren’t trained in that area.
Watching the musical numbers actually makes us wish Emilia Pérez was either a straight melodrama or a full-on opera like Audiard initially intended. The songs are strangely short and end abruptly, which makes the sequences feel amateurish.
Although Gascón and Gomez are fine, the real acting standout holding the whole film together is Saldaña. After spending over a decade in extensive costumes and make-up for Marvel, Avatar and Star Trek, it’s great to see her dramatic range again, as well as her gifted dancing, since she was originally a ballerina before switching to cinema. It’s also a nice rarity to hear her speak fluent Spanish.
It’s too bad the material doesn’t always match the level of the performances. Ultimately, Emilia Pérez is an imperfect effort that means well, but ends up feeling like Chris Columbus’ Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) meets telenovelas.
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