“Gladiator II”

(Drama/Action: 2 hours, 28 minutes)

Starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, and Pedro Pascal

Director: Ridley Scott

Rated: R (Strong bloody violence)

Movie Review:

“Gladiator II” takes place 16 years after Russell Crowe’s gladiator Maximus from 2000’s “Gladiator” (also directed by Ridley Scott). “Gladiator II,” despite its unhistorical aspects and over-the-top fight scenes, is entertaining while not capturing the artful grandeur of the 2000 prequel.

In 211 A.D., Maximus’ former lover Lucilla (Nielsen) is now married to a hero of Rome, General Acacius (Pascal). As Lucilla, Acacius and some select senators plot to overthrow Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), Maximus’ young son Lucius (Mescal) returns as a gladiator owned by malevolent and sly gladiator promoter Macrinus (Washington).

“Gladiator II’s” narrative is comparable to its prequel. The protagonists in both movies are driven by a noble sense of revenge for a murdered loved one. “Gladiator II” just adds some political intrigue to the story, better special effects and more brutal action scenes..

Ridley Scott offers a similar story. He just makes it more ornately decorated. Apart from Denzel Washington’s Macrinus’ schemes to ascend to power, the “Gladiator II” story is unconvincing because of fast character shifts. Characters appear inconsistent from one scene to the next in a hastened manner filled with platitudes.

Go for the gladiator events in the Colosseum. The fight sequences are a bold reconceptualization of the ancient Roman arena.

Grade: B- (The arena is full of action but is not dramatically fulfilling.)

“Wicked”

(Musical Drama/Fantasy: 2 hours, 40 minutes)

Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum

Director: Jon M. Chu

Rated: PG (Scary action, thematic elements and suggestive material)

Movie Review:

“Wicked” is an absorbing movie based on characters from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” It holds one’s attention for a runtime of two hours and 40 minutes. It is a good movie with some interesting developments.

“Wicked” is a prelude to the famous “The Wizard of Oz,” a 1939 American musical fantasy film that has been seen in cinemas and televisions by multiple generations for 84 years. “Wicked” details how the Wicked Witch becomes the villain in the land of Oz.

A bubbly and popular student, Galinda Upland, who becomes Glinda the Good, is played by Ariana Grande. Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba Thropp, who becomes the Wicked Witch. Galinda and Elphaba must share a room at Shiz University, a mandate of Madame Morrible (Yeoh). Galinda despises her roommate and initially hates sharing the large dorm room. After multiple disagreements, the bitter rivals become friends at the elite school. As Elphaba adapts to her growing sorcery powers, she soon learns that the good life is not for all citizens in Oz. Even more, she is being duped into helping with the notorious scheme.

“Wicked” is one of the more entertaining movies – a dashing musical – one will see this year. It has plenty of good lessons to learn and meaningful characters and a well-developed story.

Erivo and Grande are a dazzling duo. Erivo plays Elphaba with endearing qualities. She makes the character endearing, a young being deceived. Conversely, Grande plays Galinda in a beautifully annoying style. Galinda is rich, spoiled and thrives on superficial aspects, such as her appearance and clothes.

The movie does have nuances that perplex. The biggest is that Elphaba’s green skin alarms everyone, yet the students take a history class taught by Dr. Dillamond, an erudite goat voiced by Peter Dinklage. No one finds that oddity strange.

However, the land of Oz is a fantasy ripe with talking trees, flying monkeys and other fascinating creatures. It is a nice escape for those looking for the perfect getaway for families.

Grade: B (Something deliciously wicked this way comes.)

“Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin”

(Period Drama/History: 2 hours, 13 minutes)

Starring: Jonas Dassler, David Jonsson and Clarke Peters

Director: Todd Komarnicki

Rated: PG-13 (Violent content, thematic elements and some smoking.)

Movie Review:

“Bonhoeffer” is an intriguing story set during World War II. It follows the plot of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a skillful Dassler), a pastor who attempts to help save his homeland of Germany from Hitler. Bonhoeffer is one of the first people to notice that Hitler is trying to reinvent the Christian church as he annihilates the Jews. Bonhoeffer’s rejection of Hitler’s Third Reich through his fiery sermons does not go unnoticed, and he quickly becomes one of the freedom fighters deemed a threat to the Nazi’s rule of Germany.

This movie is based on true events, and it is captivating. It shows how a man of faith becomes part of a plot to assassinate Hitler. However, it does have two glaring faults. The producers and writer of this movie try too hard to make Bonhoeffer a modern Jesus Christ. This is sort of an overkill.

The second is something directors do too much today because they think it is an artistic measure. Director Todd Komarnicki (“Resistance,” 2003) is better known as a writer for his screenplay “Sully” (Director Clint Eastwood, 2016). He has too many flashbacks. They often interfere with the story.

Komarnicki does this to give insight into Bonhoeffer, but a straightforward synchronous story is often better. A visit to a concession stand or a bathroom break could cause one to be out of synch for just a split moment because flashbacks interfere with synchronous story-telling.

Otherwise, this true tale of a man’s bravery fighting against the evil he sees is gratifying. It captures a slice of history by making it a biographical thriller, even if its execution is iffy.

Grade: B- (The pastor’s theology is sound.)

A still from ‘Better Man’
| Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

I am sceptical if a more banana (no pun intended, seriously) of a biopic could arrive this festival season than Better Man, which is The Greatest Showman-maker Michael Gracey’s captivating film on the life of British pop star Robbie Williams.

Let’s get this underway first: Better Man isn’t that trailblazing film that tells you the answers to the universe’s mysteries. At its chassis, this adrenaline-pumping musical biopic only tells an all too familiar story of an unruly artist and his cocaine-fuelled slides in and out of self-apathy, addiction, heartbreak, fame, and mountains of insecurities.

But then what elevated Better Man into one of the most fun experiences on the opening night of the 55th International Film Festival of India was this: it’s an all-out musical with wonderfully choreographed and pristine-looking set-pieces. Secondly, Gracey exhibits extraordinary control over a narrative that moves in and out of reality and fantasy. And, as you would have guessed, the central character is a CGI-generated monkey, voiced by Williams and Jonno Davies, and fully enacted for motion capture by Davies.

All this monkeying around seemed like a mere gimmick from the promos of Better Man, but then this distinctive feature of the biopic is also its most daring endeavour. Gracey has taken seed of the idea, as he says in a message before the screening, from how Williams grew up looking at himself as a less evolved human being. Better Man doesn’t treat this as a joke but uses it to spotlight the humour and irony in everything around Williams.

Thanks to the voice acting and good CGI magic that captures nuanced expressions and body movements, in mere minutes into the film, yours truly suspended the fact that this was a monkey. If anything, that only credits Michael Gracey’s film, co-written along with Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole, as an attempt true to the human element at its core. Most of the emotional beats in the script manage to strike hard.

It all begins when Robbie Williams wasn’t Robbie Williams, but only Robert, a kid who lives with his nan (Alison Steadman) and mother (Kate Mulvany) in the underbelly of Stoke-on-Trent, and wishes to see if he has the ‘it’ that his father (Steve Pemberton) had said (before he abandoned him) all superstars are born with. He’s bullied around and deserted by friends, but even as a child, Robert displays a talent for putting on a show. As a teen, he actualises a position on the music scene after becoming a part of the hot and new boy band, Take That. Strap on your seatbelts as, from here on, Better Man rockets into the night sky.

Gracey’s explosive style of filmmaking makes every musical set piece — one more over-the-top than the other — count. One such sequence comes immediately after Take That, with the help of their manager Nigel Martin-Smith (Damon Herriman), secures a new record label. The sequence where Robbie meets his lady love, All Saints singer Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno), is gorgeously shot and choreographed; a regular meet-cute on a yacht, after Robbie is humiliated out of Take That, is blown into something straight out of Disney’s handbook. With every song, you wonder if Gracey just wanted to pump more money and test the limits of how bizarre it could get.

A still from ‘Better Man’
| Photo Credit:
Paramount Pictures

It surely must take guts and an audacious conviction to say, let’s push a musical to its unconventional peak, not because it could be done, but because it must be. This is a film that either works for you or doesn’t; regardless, it is undeniably eccentric. In one instance, the sound of a toilet being flushed in the background is imposed on the image of Williams drowning a drink. The crazy reaches its peak at a Planet of the Apes-esque sequence where Robbie sings at Knebworth Park, the historic concert that cemented his position as a pop star of the ages.

Again, while this is the most unusual of biopics, is it the most piercing portrayal of a troubled man? I am unsure. A few emotional beats are opaque, like why Williams couldn’t pull himself up and amend his relationship with Nicole. But then, when you wonder how a real-life pop star had trusted the vision of a filmmaker to dig so deep into his troubles, baring naked his vulnerabilities, Better Man is triumph enough.

Better Man was the opening film of the 55th International Film Festival of India

In adapting Renée Knight’s novel “Disclaimer” into the Apple TV+ limited series, writer-director Alfonso Cuarón enlisted fellow Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline to play its central arch-nemeses. Over seven “chapters,” the two share relatively little screen time. But their eventual pas de deux will send viewers scrambling to rewatch the smoke-and-mirrors mystery thriller to uncover everything that initially went unnoticed.

The Envelope sat down with Blanchett and Kline for a quick chat over Zoom at the end of a long London press day 48 hours before the series’ debut. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I would be remiss in not asking you about working with your respective onscreen spouses, the great Lesley Manville and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Kevin Kline: [Lesley’s] a brilliant actress. It’s such a joy. It was a great, great experience working with her. She’s no-nonsense. Or else the character was no-nonsense. Anyway, just very stiff-upper-lip and very English about things. That was inspiring.

Cate Blanchett: I was working with Sacha, who is [an] absolute genius at what he does. But this is part of a departure he has been making in recent years. He was so open to the experience. It was really great. We talked a lot about the relationship. We had a lot of time to talk, because Alfonso works quite slowly. I really relished those conversations. … The one thing we should say is also our sons [Louis Partridge as Jonathan Brigstocke and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nicholas Ravenscroft] — talk about phenomenal actors. I have always wanted to work with Kodi, back from his very first film, when we were producing theater in Australia. Desperate to work with him. To me, at the heart of this piece is the relationship of fathers and sons, and mothers and sons, and two parallel families. It was an absolute joy to work with Kodi.

Without divulging spoilers, please tell me about shooting your pivotal sequence.

Kline: Well, it’s on Cate. It’s mostly listening for me.

Blanchett: That’s easier said than done. There are qualities of listening, Kevin.

Kline: Well, I was hoping you’d say that. [All laugh.] I was very attentive, and listening with quite a deeply ingrained bias about what I’m hearing and what I’m believing and doubting.

Blanchett: But your character’s been goading my character for such a long period. It’s a very unlikely setting for a very unlikely unburdening. And so, the strangeness of the setup, really, informed the way we shot it. Also, knowing — I talked to Alfonso a couple of days before we started to do it — there would be flashbacks in there, we decided to then shoot all 40 pages to camera rather than treating some as voice-over and flashback, so that we got the whole story, and then he could work out what he wanted.

Kline: Which was extraordinary to me. … [Cate] narrates the whole story to my character, and she just did it! It’s just a phenomenal leap of faith and talent.

Is this the first time you’ve worked together?

Kline: Yeah.

Blanchett: Is it the last?

Kline: I believe so. [Both laugh.]

(Jennifer McCord/For The Times)

In general, what surprised you about each other?

Blanchett: Alfonso’s quite exacting about what he wants. So, we had to sort of find a way of all working together in a similar way. I was so taken — [to Kline] I mean, I knew your invention, your wit, your humanity, all of that. And your craft. That was unsurprisingly brilliant. But I think your patience and your openness to the process, I was —

Kline: I was just gonna say all those things about myself. But also, I would add that —

Blanchett: More of a curmudgeon. [Both laugh.]

Kline: It’s always interesting to watch your fellow actors working with the same director you are, obviously. My first film experience was working with Meryl Streep on “Sophie’s Choice.”

Blanchett: It’s all been downhill since then, is that what you’re saying?

Kline: Pretty much, yeah.

Blanchett: Look where he is now. [Laughs]

Kline: I know. … I just learn so much watching my fellow actor.

Blanchett: Watching you. You were exceptional. I mean, it was unbelievable.

Kline: The degree of confidence Meryl exuded. I go, “Wow! She just doesn’t question herself at all. How do you do that?” And then [indicates Blanchett], I got the same vibe from this one.

Blanchett: Oh, I question myself plenty, don’t you worry.

Kline: Well, I suppose we all do. But when someone’s acting with authority, you forget. It doesn’t matter what past things of theirs you’ve seen them do. There’s just a presence you react to. I’m not making any comparisons, but [affected voice] I’ve worked with some of the best. [Both laugh.] No, it was just great to watch how Cate works.

(Jennifer McCord/For The Times)

What would you like audiences to leave with at the end of “Disclaimer”?

Blanchett: Well, the most satisfying thing I’ve heard is the fact that you watched it a second time. I can’t tell you the joy and relief that brings me. Because often with episodic storytelling, people either want to binge-watch it, or they’re time-poor, or watch it with two or three other things on board. And there’s so many almost imperceptible details that Alfonso has woven in — and encouraged us to weave into our performances — that hopefully it is rewarding to watch a second time.

Kline: Alfonso is very, very detail-oriented. That’s what struck me the first day of working. I had never worked with a director who was that meticulous and that concerned with foreground, background, decor, costume, hair, makeup, accent, acting, mood, atmosphere.

Is there anything else you want to say in the last minute or two I have with you?

Kline: [Long pause] I’d just like to apologize.

Blanchett: [Laughs, reacts to offscreen voice] They’re saying Kevin has to go. [To Kline] Is that what they’re saying?

Kline: Oh, I have to go. Oh, good! No, no. My performance is indefensible. [Blanchett laughs.] I have nothing more to say. The defense rests. [Both laugh.]