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Movie Review: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’
(L to R) Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

In theaters June 9th, ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ offers the usual combination of robo-clashes and half-hearted human characters while proving that the franchise is really starting to run out of invention or momentum.
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What’s the story of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’?

‘Rise of the Beasts’ opens on the planet of the Maximals, a group of Transformers who arrived years ago and assumed the forms of native fauna in order to blend in (sort of). But when Scourge (Peter Dinklage), the henchman of living planet Unicron (Colman Domingo) seeking a vital McGuffin, the heroic Maximals are forced to escape, ending up on Earth thousands of years before the Autobots.

Cut to Brooklyn of the 1990s, where Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is trying to support his single mother and ailing younger brother while being turned down for various jobs. Drawn into a heist by an acquaintance, he accidently ends up stealing a Porsche that is actually the Autobot Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson) and is suddenly thrust into a battle for the future of both the robots and the planet –– as Unicron, Scourge and their other evil associates have tracked the Maximals to Earth.

Noah agrees to help Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the other robots to find what they need to defeat Unicron, and that ends up pulling museum researcher Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) into the mission. Soon, they’re racing to stop Unicron’s plan to devour the Earth, with the help of Maximals such as Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and Airazor (Michelle Yeoh).

(L to R) Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback star in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

Who else is in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’?

The cast also includes John DiMaggio as the voice of Stratosphere, ‘Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernández voicing Wheeljack, Liza Koshy as Arcee, Luna Lauren Velez as Mrs. Diaz and Dean Scott Vazquez as Kris.

Director Steven Caple Jr. on the set of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

Robots in Disappointment

If this was supposed to be Paramount’s big return for the ‘Transformers’ franchise, it is, sad to report, a big miss.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. (who has already done decent work on a sequel with ‘Creed II’), the new movie mostly boasts re-heated plot elements and ideas, while throwing in very little that is fresh or new.

It’s yet another hunt for an energy thingy that will save or destroy everything, leading to very little that will engage all but the youngest cinemagoers.

Most annoyingly, while the movie does its best to hand wave the idea that humanity at large isn’t aware of the giant robots in their midst until the 2000s setting of the first Michael Bay film, the events that transpire here simply don’t support that.

Unicron, meanwhile, is far from a compelling baddie, mostly seen through communication with Scourge like an angry boss who keeps ranting at his employees. Scourge himself, despite the best efforts of the effects team, is a stock lead henchman who threatens our heroes.

(L to R) Nightbird, Scourge and Battletrap in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

And most annoyingly, he has a particular power used against one of the Maximals later in the film that is so effective you have to wonder why he doesn’t employ it more often. Maybe it takes a lot out of the poor guy. Not that anyone is expecting careful logic from a ‘Transformers’ movie, but it makes the experience of watching it that much more frustrating.

The action is relatively perfunctory, though clearer than the later Bay movies, even if Caple Jr. can’t compete with the stylish levels of “Bayhem.” There are still moments, though, where it’s tough to figure out which hunk of metal is battling which. And don’t get us started on a final act moment that comes across as the laziest rip-off of ‘Iron Man’ possibly conceived, suffering from cheap effects and a ludicrous deus ex Maximals.

Plus, between this and his useless cameo in ‘Fast X’, it might truly be time for a moratorium on movie appearances by Pete Davidson –– he’s such a one-note performer and Mirage is rarely as funny as he thinks he is. Thank goodness for Cullen, who, even when he’s playing a weirdly angry Optimus, does so with some flare.

As for the Maximals, they’re less believable performances from respected (and in Yeoh’s case, recently Oscar-winning) actors, and more the bored sound of people crammed into a voice booth and asked to recite trope-heavy dialogue that you’ve heard in a hundred movies such as this.

Oh, and because no giant studio movie can escape the lure of franchise building and potential crossovers, there’s a scene after the credits that nods towards connections with another big Hasbro property that has faltered on the big screen. It’s less likely to make fans cheer than make them sigh and wonder when the movie was going to earn this.

Bumblebee in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

What works?

The ‘Transformers’ movies have tried to nod towards its human characters’ storylines (‘Bumblebee’ most effectively), and ‘Rise of the Beasts’ offers Ramos and Fishback at least something to do outside of running and reacting to the giant metal creatures.

They’re pleasingly not forced into the cliched love story, and actually contribute to the narrative, even giving the likes of Noah’s ill younger brother something to do beyond look cute and be a driving force for him changing his life.

(L to R) Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Wheeljack and Arcee in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures, a di Bonaventura Pictures Production, a Tom Desanto /Don Murphy Production, a Bay Films Production.

Fans will be excited to see the Maximals enter the movie canon, though like the Dinobots before them, they largely end up as reasons for our heroes to go on a new mission rather than truly believable as characters in their own right.

The ‘Transformers’ team appears to have learned only a few lessons from ‘Bumblebee’, and ‘Rise of the Beasts’ mostly feels like a backwards step in a franchise that peaked with the 2007 original. It’s not entirely without merit, but the entertainment value could use more energon crystals.

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ receives 4 out of 10 stars.

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ rolls out into theaters on June 9th.

Other Movies Similar to ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’:
- ‘G.I. Joe: The Movie‘ (1987)
- ‘The Transformers: The Movie‘ (1986)
- ‘Transformers‘ (2007)
- ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra‘ (2009)
- ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘ (2009)
- ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon‘ (2011)
- ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation‘ (2013)
- ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction‘ (2014)
- ‘Transformers: The Last Knight‘ (2017)
- ‘Bumblebee‘ (2018)
- ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins‘ (2021)
Buy Tickets: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Movie Showtimes

Buy ‘Transformer’ Movies on Amazon

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ is produced by Skydance, Paramount, di Bonaventura Pictures, Bay Films, New Republic Pictures, Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production, Hasbro Studios, Entertainment One, and Amblin Entertainment. It is set to release in theaters on June 9th, 2023.
June 6, 2023
UPDATE: Frank Grillo Cast in DC Universe’s ‘Creature Commandos’
Frank Grillo in DirecTV’s ‘Kingdom.’

While it seems that director and co-chairman of DC Studios James Gunn makes news almost every day when answering questions on Twitter about his upcoming plans for the DC Universe, he has yet to announce any cast members for ‘Superman: Legacy,’ which he will also write and direct. But that doesn’t mean that Gunn hasn’t already cast some actors in a few roles.

Now, in an exclusive interview with Moviefone for his new movie ‘One Day as a Lion,’ which was released in select theaters on April 4th and will be available On Digital and On Demand April 7th, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ actor Frank Grillo has hinted that he will soon be working with James Gunn on an upcoming DC Universe project.
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What did Frank Grillo say about Working with DC?

While speaking with Grillo for ‘One Day as a Lion,’ we asked the actor what project he was excited to work on next and the actor dropped this bomb:

“I’m excited to go play with James Gunn in the DC Universe, believe it or not. He’s got some great ideas and we’re going to go and have some fun there. That’s about as much as I can say without getting fired, I think. James Gunn and Peter Safran they got some great things happening over there, and James called me and said, “It’s ready for you. We’re ready for you to come work at DC and we have a great project.” It is a really cool thing and some amazing people are attached to it. I think James and Peter are going to rock the world with DC.”

We followed up by asking the actor if the project he is talking about will start shooting soon, and if we can expect official casting announcements shortly:

“I think so, as we gear up to do it, which is in the next month, they’ll probably release more. And those guys are the opposite of Marvel. They’re like, “Let’s talk about it. Let’s get it out there. Let’s have fun.” It’s far less constricting. I almost got fired from ‘Captain America’ at least a dozen times because I didn’t know the routine. But these guys are much cooler.”

Frank Grillo in ‘A Day to Die.’

Related Article: James Gunn Directing ‘Superman: Legacy’

Will Frank Grillo be in ‘Superman: Legacy?’

While the actor was vague about what DC project he would be working on, simple deduction says it’s probably ‘Superman: Legacy,’ since he mentioned the project should start shooting next month, and that is the first film planned for the new DC Universe. It’s also easy to think Grillo is referring to ‘Superman’ because he specifically said, “I’m excited to go play with James Gunn,” who is writing and directing ‘Legacy.’

However, since Gunn is also the co-chairman of DC Studios, and in theory would be involved in any project they are planning, Grillo could be referring to another DC Universe project. Maybe the upcoming TV series ‘Waller’ with Viola Davis or even the movie ‘The Brave and the Bold,’ which will center on Batman and Robin, and Grillo would make a fantastic Dark Knight.

There is also a strong possibility that Grillo has been cast in the HBO Max animated series ‘Creature Commandos,’ which could be starting production shortly as well. If that is the case, then it will only be a voice role at first, but Gunn’s plan is for the same voice actors to also play their characters in live-action eventually.

Fuel was added to this theory when Grillo recently posted to Instagram that he and ‘Hellboy‘ actor Ron Perlman “did a little film together a while back,” over an image of a DC casting rumor article continuing to say, “Could this be two,” indicating that he and Perlman have another project coming soon that may be DC related. Rumor is that Grillo would voice Rick Flag Sr., father of Joel Kinnaman‘s Rick Flag Jr. from ‘Suicide Squad‘ and Gunn’s own ‘The Suicide Squad,‘ with Perlman voicing Eric Frankenstein.

However, Grillo’s post specifically indicates that his DC project with Perlman is there second “film” together, which would rule out the series ‘Creature Commandos,’ so its entirely possible both actors are attached to a DC Universe movie, and again, ‘Superman: Legacy’ is the obvious choice.

In one last effort to get Grillo to spill the beans, we asked the actor if the project he was talking about involved a character that was from another planet and sent to Earth as a baby (clearly referring to Superman). Grillo replied:

“You might be on the right track … or you might not.”

Frank Grillo as Pauly Russo in the action/thriller, ‘One Day as a Lion,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Who is Frank Grillo?

Frank Grillo has been a fixture on television and in films for over two decades. You’d recognize him from such popular TV programs as ‘The Shield,’ ‘Prison Break,’ ‘Kingdom,’ and ‘Billions.’

The actor has also appeared in countless movies including ‘The Mambo Kings,’ ‘Minority Report,’ ‘Edge of Darkness,’ Warrior,’ ‘The Grey,’ ‘End of Watch,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ ‘Gangster Squad,’ ‘Homefront,’ ‘Copshop,’ ‘A Day to Die,’ and ‘Paradise Highway.’

But Grillo is probably best known for his work in two extremely popular franchises, ‘The Purge’ and Marvel Studios. He played Sgt. Leo Barnes in ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ and ‘The Purge: Election Year,’ and in the MCU portrayed Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame.’

Whether or not Frank Grillo will really be in ‘Superman: Legacy’ is truly yet to be known, but it will be interesting to see if the actor makes the move from Marvel to DC.

UPDATE:

The mystery has been solved! We now know, via The Wrap, that Grillo will in fact be voicing Rick Flag Sr. in the ‘Creature Commandos’ animated series that James Gunn has planned as part of his “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” initial phase of the new DC movie and TV universe.

‘Creature Commandos’, which features a motley crew of beasts and others who go on missions, a little like an even weirder ‘Suicide Squad.’

And talking of, Rick Flag Sr served in the original Suicide Squad, a World War II unit, and later joined Task Force X after the war. He is a highly skilled soldier and strategist, with a strong sense of duty and loyalty to his country. Flag is often portrayed as a no-nonsense, by-the-book type of character, who is willing to make tough decisions in order to achieve his objectives.

Not too much is known about the series so far, save that Gunn has written all the episodes and it’s in production now. His brother Sean Gunn will be voicing –– if the guttural sounds he makes can be said to be a “voice” –– Weasel from the ‘The Suicide Squad’ and we can expect more casting news in the coming weeks and months.

And Gunn is looking to have actors play the roles across animation and live-action, so chances are Grillo will be showing up elsewhere in the DC universe in future.

DC’s ‘Creature Commandos’ Photo: DC.com.

Other Movies Similar to ‘Creature Commandos:’
- ‘Suicide Squad‘ (2016)
- ‘The Suicide Squad‘ (2021)
- ‘Peacemaker‘ (2022)
- ‘Black Adam‘ (2022)
Buy DC Movies On Amazon

‘One Day as a Lion’ is now available in select theaters and will be available On Digital and On Demand on April 7, 2023.

To watch our video interviews with Frank Grillo, director John Swab, and screenwriter and actor Scott Caan about their new film ‘One Day as a Lion,’ please click on the video player below.
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April 12, 2023
New ‘Hellboy’ Movie in the Works
David Harbour as Hellboy in 2019’s ‘Hellboy.’

Back in 2019, we got the latest attempt to bring Mike Mignola’s ‘Hellboy’ comics to theaters. The character, a demonic creature who has been recruited to help the fight against evil––and who boasts both a snappy wit and a giant red fist in addition to his red, rocky appearance––was played there by ‘Stranger Things’ David Harbour, with Neil Marshall, the British director behind ‘The Descent’ and ‘Doomsday’ overseeing the movie.

Unfortunately for all involved, it only made $55 million globally at the box office on a $50 million budget, which appeared to scupper Millennium Films’ plan for a new franchise based on the character.

Undaunted, the company is trying again, putting together a new movie with some different players behind the scenes, according to a report from Discussing Film, which has since been confirmed by Deadline.
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What is the next ‘Hellboy’ movie?

The new film has comic book creator Mike Mignola writing the script for the first time (he contributed the story to the 2004 Guillermo del Toro version––more on that down below), along with Christopher Golden, who works on the comics at Dark Horse with him. They’ve adapted comics run ‘The Crooked Man’ for the screenplay.

The new film will see Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. There, they discover a small community haunted by witches, led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past: the Crooked Man.

In the comic, The Crooked Man was an eighteenth-century miser and war profiteer named Jeremiah Witkins who was hanged for his crimes yet returned from Hell as the region’s resident Devil.

And in the director’s chair this time? Brian Taylor, who along with regular collaborator Mark Neveldine, has made the likes of ‘Crank’ and its sequel, plus ‘Mom and Dad’ which he directed solo. He also has comic book adaptation experience thanks to ‘Jonah Hex’ and ‘Ghost Rider’ sequel’ Spirit of Vengeance’.

Shooting is reportedly scheduled to kick off in Bulgaria next month, but nothing has been released as to who will play the main character.

“‘The Crooked Man’ is a departure from all previous Hellboy films where Mike Mignola and the creator of the comics will finally shepherd an authentic version of his stories and characters in film form,” said Millennium Media’s President Jeffrey Greenstein. “This is the first in the series of films that will captivate audiences in familiar (and new) ways. Brian Taylor is an expert across the board, and I couldn’t think of a better person to bring this story to life to show our audience this different and original Hellboy slate of films.”

Writer/director Guillermo del Toro holds Hellboy’s revolver on the set of ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army.’

Related Article: First ‘Hellboy’ Trailer Introduces David Harbour as the Red Half-Demon

What’s happening with Guillermo del Toro’s version?

Unfortunately for fans of Guillermo del Toro’s two ‘Hellboy’ movies, which were released in 2004 and 2008 respectively, the latest development means we may never get to see the director’s third film, which he’d planned to wrap up a trilogy.

Del Toro has also moved on to many other projects, including the likes of the Oscar-nominated ‘Pinocchio’ from this year, so we can at least look forward to plenty of films from him, even if that third ‘Hellboy’ remains strictly on wish lists for now.

(L to R) Ron Perlman as Hellboy and Doug Jones as Abe Sapien in director Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army.’

Other Movies Similar to ‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man:’
- ‘Hellboy‘ (2004)
- ‘Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms‘ (2006)
- ‘Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron‘ (2007)
- ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army‘ (2008)
- ‘Hellboy‘ (2019)
Buy ‘Hellboy’ Movies On Amazon
February 21, 2023
‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Director Interview

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Premiering on Netflix December 9th is Oscar-winning director ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.’

A stop-motion-animated adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s 1883 fairy tale novel of the same name, the film is a long-in-development passion project of Del Toro, who’s co-directed it with veteran animation director Mark Gustafson.

The new film features the voices of Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tim Blake Nelson, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and Gregory Mann as the titular puppet.

Pinocchio reworks the classic fable into a tale of fathers and sons, of the virtue of disobedience, and – like so much of Del Toro’s work – of the dangers of fascism.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Guillermo Del Toro about the film’s inspirations and its unique style of animation.

Director Guillermo del Toro for ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.’

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Del Toro about ‘Pinocchio.’

Moviefone: One of the interesting things about ‘Pinocchio’ is that rather than recall other animated movies, it shares the emotional immediacy of Italian Neorealism and Luis Bunuel‘s films from the 1950s. How did you approach balancing its real life horrors with its fantasy elements? Did you take much the same approach you did with ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’?

Guillermo del Toro: Yeah, it’s very much the same. I mean, it’s instinctual partially, certainly in shaping the first iterations of the tale. Then you’re really, really careful on the composition of the scenes and how they flow from one another. Tonally, it’s a movie that is going to fluctuate between moments of musical comedy or comedy to drama, to melodrama, to conversations that have a gravity for me and an importance for me that is almost existential.

So you have to be able to circulate between Mussolini arriving in a Tex Avery Warner Brothers Cartoon limousine and Pinocchio having a conversation with a fellow bedmate in a fascist reeducation youth camp. So that’s what is difficult. But every time I think about one of my movies, it is that disparity of flavors that attracts me. ‘Shape of Water’ was a love story between a cleaning woman and an amphibian man done by Douglas Sirk with musical numbers. So it is not exactly easy, but it’s what I do. I don’t know if I do it well or not, but I do it.

(L to R) Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) and Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.

MF: You’ve said that in making this film you sought to avoid the pantomime shorthand that infects so many animated films today and overly hip characters and how instead you called upon the animators to animate silence and “failed physical acts.” How did you develop this technique?

GDT: It started when I was younger and I saw ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ for the first time. (Director Hayao) Miyazaki has a moment in which the father goes to put on a shoe and he fails to get the shoe in the first and the second time, and finally gets the shoe in. I was transfixed. I thought, “This is amazing.” I read more about Miyazaki of course, and at one point or another, the master Miyazaki said, “If you animate the ordinary, it will be extraordinary.” I decided that real life, in animation, lives in the portions that nobody animates in North America, in the West, in the

industrial animation scene. I started trying it on ‘Tales of Arcadia’ – ‘Troll Hunters,’ ‘3Below,’ and ‘Wizards’ – which were three series that we developed for Netflix and Dreamworks. Little by little I realized, A, how difficult it was, and B, how rewarding it was. So we decided to put eight rules of animation together for the animated crew on ‘Pinocchio.’ I guaranteed them that no one would interfere with our movie, that I would protect it from notes or previews or changes that we didn’t want. I guaranteed them that and I was able to deliver and they invested themselves into animating it as subtle and as naturalistic as they possibly could.

Director Guillermo del Toro on the set of Netflix’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.
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December 14, 2022
Movie Review: ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’

Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.

Arriving on Netflix (following a brief theatrical run) on December 9th, Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of ‘Pinocchio’ marks the second major adaptation to arrive this year.

And this is, by a long distance, a much more satisfying, very different version than the Disney offering that landed on Disney+ back in September.

In fact, we’ll go so far as to say that there is more inventiveness, care and technique in one wooden finger of this passion project from the director of ‘Hellboy’, ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Shape of Water’ than in the entire Disney effort, which offered minor charms and little reason to justify its existence.

A passion project of the Mexican director for many years, representing several false starts and financial frustrations, that it’s arriving at all is miracle enough, but that it’s this good is even more reason to celebrate.

Yet this is also no sanitized, completely family-friendly affair. There is a darkness and element of horror at the heart of del Toro’s film, which feels even more in keeping with Carlo Collodi’s moral fable.

(L to R) Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley) and Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.

Drawing on the classic tale, the stop-motion musical follows the extraordinary journey of a wooden boy magically brought to life by a father’s wish. Brought, it should be said, to life by a wood sprite creature that wouldn’t look out of place in one of del Toro’s live-action fantasies, and voiced by Tilda Swinton, whose character has a sibling in the spirit of Death, whom Pinocchio meets more than once on his travels.

And continuing a theme he established in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, del Toro uses war and totalitarianism as the backdrop for the narrative. Set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy, this is a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) struggles to live up to his father Geppetto’s (David Bradley) expectations.

If Disney’s take featured the now-iconic version animated version of the main character overlaid with a CG sheen, its hard angles lovely sanded down to a smooth, kiddie-pleasing finish, so del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson opt for a gnarly, more realistic puppet that looks like it was carved from waste wood, all knots and stumpy bits of carpentry. Though this living marionette is no less appealing.

An agent of chaos from the off, Mann’s Pinocchio chafes against rules and regulations, finding fun in disobedience, and needing to learn that there’s a time and place for such behavior.

Still, he’s a loveable lad, singing his way through some memorable numbers and encountering fear from the townsfolk. And he has his conscience present and correct––living (literally) in his heart––in the shape of Ewan McGregor’s Cricket.

Sebastian J. Cricket (voiced by Ewan McGregor) in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.

The expected beats of the story––Pinocchio tempted away from attending school by the lure of fame from manipulative, cruel showman Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz)––are all found here, but this take on the take expands it beyond those boundaries to explore death, disobedience and those (such as Ron Perlman’s Podesta, who fervently believes in the darkness spreading across his country) would champion hurtful ideologies. After all, it’s not every adaptation of ‘Pinocchio’ that would dare to have Mussolini as a character, and then have the lead sing a song that roundly insults him.

Del Toro worked on the screenplay Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins, and the result of their toil is a clear-eyed and timeless fable.

Voice-wise, the cast is spot on. Mann (doing double duty as Geppetto’s late son Carlo in a flashback to how the poor land died and as the central character) is charming without ever tipping over into precociousness.

David Bradley, who might be better known to audiences as the grumpy Argus Filch from the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, here infuses Geppetto with real humanity: by turns mournful or frustrated, loving and chastising. Around them, there are the talents of actors such as Waltz, Swinton, McGregor, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman and voiceover regular Tom Kenny.

When you have Oscar winner Cate Blanchett showing up to provide guttural screeches for simian character Spazzatura, you know the phrase “embarrassment of riches” creeps into the casting discussion (and yes, Blanchett is excellent).

But the voices would be nothing without the beautiful animation and it’s here that that the new effort truly comes alive. Like its central figure (and again, in keeping with its co-director’s sensibilities), this is an authentic, very practical and darkly hewed world, bursting with fascinating little details, such as the skeletal rabbits who guard the link between the world of the living and the dead (and amuse themselves with card games).

(Center) Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.

Every single puppet, prop, landscape, building and gesture is created with deep attention to detail, and lavish craft.

Though the running time is a hefty one for a movie aimed at families at nearly two hours, it doesn’t waste a moment of that time. And yes, while parents might find themselves having difficult discussions with children about the subjects of death and hatred (and whether Mussolini was a poopy baby), they are themes worth exploring, and the film does so with heart and brains.

There really is no comparison between the two ‘Pinocchio’ films––for all the Disney-friendly fun offered by the Robert Zemeckis movie, del Toro’s makes it look like a bargain bin knock-off with plastic parts. This movie, for all its grungy, darker elements, bears the seal of quality and careful carving. An artisan piece of work that skips pretentiousness and instead bristles with chaos and imagination.

If you only watch one (of the approximately 572) adaptations of Collodi’s story, we recommend this one. Del Toro has been planning this one for nearly two decades––and it has been more than worth the wait and effort.

‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Director Guillermo del Toro on the set of Netflix’s ‘Pinocchio.’ Photo: Netflix © 2022.
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December 9, 2022
‘Pinocchio’ Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Animated Adventure

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Adapting classic tale ‘Pinocchio’ has been something of a labor of love for Guillermo del Toro, the director behind such memorable fantasies as ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Shape of Water’.

It has also been an effort fraught with changes and false starts, but he’s finally going to deliver in December via Netflix, which has put out a new trailer for the movie.

Collodi’s tale was originally published in serial form as ‘The Story of a Puppet’ way back in July 1881. The publication stopped at Chapter 15, but popular demand meant it resumed in February 1882. Re-released in single book form in 1883, it has been hailed as one of the greatest works of Italian literature.

It has been adapted many times for the screen – probably most famously in Disney’s 1940 animated version, which took home Oscars for original song and score.

The studio has now turned it (alongside so many of its previously animated stories) into a live action/CG hybrid movie under the direction of Robert Zemeckis. That version, which boasts Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Luke Evans among its cast, will be on Disney+ this coming September 8th as part of 2022’s Disney+ Day.

‘Pinocchio’ is releasing in theaters in November before launching on Netflix in December.

As for del Toro, he’s been aiming to get his ‘Pinocchio’ made since at least 2008 and the movie has grappled through different combinations of filmmakers on its journey to the screen, struggling to find studio support for the ambitious, darkly hewed story. For this version, del Toro co-directs with Claymation veteran Mark Gustafson (who was director of animation on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ in 2009) and the script is from del Toro, Patrick McHale, Gus Grimly and Matthew Robbins.

This new trailer is narrated by Sebastian J. Cricket (voiced by Ewan McGregor), the latest incarnation of the character who usually serves as an advisor to the central character, a puppet who longs to become a real boy. In true del Toro style, here he’s not simply a funny character along for the ride – he lives in Pinocchio’s heart.

Along with his quest to become truly real, Pinocchio has another mission – he’ll mend the heart of his creator/father figure, the woodcarver Geppetto, who is mourning the loss of his son. But it won’t be an easy task, and Pinocchio’s journey is fraught with danger. He’ll have to learn that disobedience can be as crucial to growing up and becoming who you’re meant to be as blind loyalty.

Alongside McGregor, Gregory Mann is voicing Pinocchio, while ‘Harry Potter’ alumnus David Bradley is Geppetto. Finn Wolfhard plays Candlewick, Cate Blanchett is Sprezzatura, Christoph Waltz is the cunning Count Volpe, while John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, Tilda Swinton and Ron Perlman make up the rest of the main cast.

Thankfully, for those who want to experience del Toro and his team’s work on the big screen, Netflix is releasing this one in theaters in November ahead of a December launch on the streaming service.

‘Pinocchio’ is releasing in theaters in November before launching on Netflix in December.
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July 27, 2022
Ali Larter Talks ‘The Last Victim’

Ali Larter in ‘The Last Victim.’

Opening in theaters and on digital beginning May 13th is the new neo-western crime-thriller ‘The Last Victim,’ which was directed by Naveen A. Chathapuram (‘Ca$h’).

The new movie follows a group of outlaws, led by the charismatic Jake (Ralph Ineson), who is pursued by an aging sheriff named Herman Hickey (Ron Perlman), after a crime goes wrong in the American Southwest. The gang of outcasts soon crosses paths with Susan (Ali Larter), an anthropologist with OCD, and her husband Richard (Tahmoh Penikett). After killing Richard and losing sight of Susan, the group pursues her with the hopes of making her the last victim.

Ali Larter has been working professionally as an actress for over twenty-five years and has appeared in numerous film and television projects. On the big screen she has been featured in such popular movies as ‘Varsity Blues,’ ‘House on Haunted Hill,’ ‘Final Destination,’ ‘Legally Blonde,’ and ‘Obsessed.’ But she is probably best known for her role on NBC’s ‘Heroes,’ and for playing Claire Redfield in ‘Resident Evil: Extinction,’ ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife,’ and ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.’

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ali Larter about her work on ‘The Last Victim.’
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You can read the full interview with Ali Larter below or watch the interview by clicking on the video player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you got involved with this project and what was your first reaction to the script?

Ali Larter: Well, Naveen is our director and he is such a champion and a believer in storytelling. He loves actors, he loves making movies, and this was a dream passion project of his. So as soon as he started reaching out to me, there’s no way of saying no to him. The movie to me was really a survival thriller. I love that you’re taking this woman who’s a very type-A personality coming from New York, trying to leave her control behind, but she tries to control everything in her life. So, she’s working on her marriage and they’re going camping on this adventure.

Then you thrust her into the wilderness, and into this world where she doesn’t know anything about it and everything is out of control, and you watch all of the pieces fall apart. Then you see her having to question her morality in the means of survival. That that was something that I really keyed into because I thought it’d be fun to play and to watch. That really interested me.

MF: Can you talk about the challenges, both physically and emotionally, of playing a character like this?

AL: So, one of the things for me is that I love shooting outside. I love shooting in the elements. I’ve done movies where we’re in 110 degrees in the desert and you’re sweating, and I’ve done it when you’re freezing cold. I’ve been blessed to be able to play so many roles where I have action or stunts, and when I’m in those environments, it’s actually something that I prefer. I don’t want to be on a sound stage where the air is turned up high and you have to pretend you’re sweating. So, with this movie we shot in Kelowna, Canada and we were able to be in the elements. I thought that was really great because you were able to feel it.

Then you have moments with Ralph Ineson where he’s chasing me through the forest and we had these hallucination scenes together. The movie started where it was really warm and by the time we finished shooting, there was snow on the ground. So, some of the scenes where Ron Perlman finds me on the ground, it was 5am and about 15 below, but you can play that a bit. It got a little intense there. So, I try to take the elements, bring them into the character and into the moment.

Ralph Ineson in ‘The Last Victim.’

MF: Susan has OCD, can you talk about how you prepared to play that aspect of your character?

AL: I think that one of the things that attracted me to it was that I am a very type-A person and I’m someone who does like to control her environment. One of the things that Susan does is that she makes lists, and she does everything she can to keep everything in control. She takes Klonopin to ease her anxiety, because the world feels like too much for her. So, I just thought about that within the realm of my own life and that you have to live in the present. This is all we have, and this story and this journey thrust her into living in the present moment.

So, that was something that I was able just to do every single day on the set and really use my surroundings, use what she was delivered. I mean, she’s more of a Lululemon athleisure wearer, now she’s learning how to shoot a gun, and survive overnight in the wild. People have attacked her husband and then you see this carnal side of her come out when she sees her husband has died. That was a really intense scene to shoot. I think it turned out really well because you’re dealing with her rage allowing to surface and her pain. So, she’s kind of cold and holding it all together in life, and this breaks her heart open a little bit.

MF: Can you talk about the rage that Susan feels throughout the movie and how that allows her to accomplish tasks that she probably didn’t think she was capable of achieving?

AL: Well, that’s where I think the question of her own morality comes in. “What will you do in order to survive?” I think that brings out a side of ourselves that you can never question. I think it brought out this warrior in her. The way that Naveen shot it, it’s really raw. There’s not a lot of makeup in this, this is not a glossy movie in that way, and so you really see us battling. It was true, it was emotional, it was painful, and it was very intense to shoot. I just lost it after, I was completely breaking down. So, he was able to capture that moment, which I think is one of the more powerful in the movie in the way that they shot it and we were able to put it together.

I think for me it’s always the goal, to go that far, and to lose yourself. But, again, it’s being in a safe environment. I’ve done so many movies that there’s times where I’ve had to do that, and then I’ve had extras get out of control and start scratching at me and hitting me because they get overwhelmed. That’s when you’re not in a safe environment.

So, I think that it’s remembering that we are actors. But the other side of it is that you want to work with professionals and people that really understand that to get those raw moments that are what makes a movie stand out, and what makes a difference in a performance, you need to be able to get there. So, hopefully you can be in that kind of environment and have those moments.

The other moment I love is when she switches from survival-mode into enjoying being a warrior, and she brings in this “Tarantino noir” moment when she licks the lighter and sets them on fire. So, that is also a fun moment for me in this because you get to chew on the scene a little bit. So, even though this is a survival thriller, there’s really fun moments that throw in that noir feel.

Ron Perlman in ‘The Last Victim.’

MF: What was it like working with Ralph Ineson and creating the dynamics between Jake and Susan?

AL: I thought Naveen did a great job with the cast because just the voice on Ralph Ineson, you’re just already on the journey, and you’re entranced by it. Then you have the voice of Ron Perlman and his presence coming in. So, these are really fun, strong character actors. When you’re doing a neo-western and you bring these people in, it’s just fun to watch. I thought they were incredible in the movie and this was shot in just twenty-one days.

So, for me, modern-day independent movies are really almost like the adult films of yesteryear, because you have independent films and then you have hundred-million-dollar superhero movies. So, to get to merge those two together and find your place within this, I thought that it really turned out great.

MF: You don’t have a lot of scenes with him, but what was it like for you working with Ron Perlman?

AL: He’s like a charming cowboy. He’s definitely like the rebel renegade that rolls into the makeup trailer and his presence is known. He was wonderful and fun. That’s the thing, when you’re all brought together in a movie, you get to see these people and I just thought that they were really professional. I was excited to get to work with him and just watch how he does it.

(On left) Director Naveen A Chathapuram on the set of ‘The Last Victim.’

Finally, what was it like working with director Naveen A. Chathapuram and watching him execute his vision for this film?

AL: He was great. Here’s the deal, we are all so lucky to make movies and anytime you get your chance, it’s just extraordinary and it’s storytelling. So, I think that this is something he really thought about for twenty years and this was a story he wanted to tell. Like I said, he loves actors. He loves every part of it. He loves the set design. He wants to work with the writers. He wants to work in hair and makeup. He is just an enthusiastic director.

He stayed really calm during it too, because you’re always running late, you end up having to cut a scene, and you have to move on. There were times where I really felt like I needed another take, or I needed something, and he was always there listening to me, and able to provide that. So, I think he’s definitely an actor’s director and I’m really proud of him. I think he did a great job with us.

Ali Larter for ‘The Last Victim.’
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May 12, 2022
Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’ Releases First Teaser

Photo of Guillermo del Toro courtesy of mandraketheblack.de and Netflix

Guillermo del Toro is the sort of director/producer/writer who always has plenty of potential movies and TV shows bubbling away either in his head or set up at various studios. An animated adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s classic tale ‘Pinocchio’ has long been a passion project for the ‘Nightmare Alley’ filmmaker, and it is finally headed to our screens this December via Netflix, as a new teaser announces.

The brief look at the stop-motion style of animation focuses on Sebastian J. Cricket (voiced by Ewan McGregor), the latest incarnation of the character who usually serves as an advisor to the central character, a puppet who longs to become a real boy. In true del Toro style, here he’s not simply a funny character along for the ride – he lives in Pinocchio’s heart.

Quite what else del Toro is planning for the story remains to be seen, but Netflix’s plot synopsis is roughly in keeping with the original: “a wooden marionette is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto.”

Alongside McGregor, Gregory Mann (who had a small role in 2018’s British movie ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’) is Pinocchio, with ‘Harry Potter’ alumnus David Bradley voicing Geppetto. Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and Ron Perlman – the latter of whom has appeared in almost everything del Toro has ever made – are all playing various characters.
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Most of their roles are unknown right now, though the cast list mentions Waltz playing the scheming Fox and Perlman taking on the part of Mangiafuoco, the owner of a marionette theatre who proves to be a real threat in Pinocchio’s life.

Collodi’s story, ‘The Adventures Of Pinocchio’ was originally published in serial form in an 1880s Children’s magazine before being collected as a book in 1883. It has been adapted many times for both movies and TV, though possibly the most famous version remains Disney’s 1940 ‘Pinocchio.’ The studio is making its own new adaptation, a live-action ‘Pinocchio‘ starring Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Luke Evans, and Cynthia Erivo, which is directed by Robert Zemeckis. It’s also due this year, and headed to Disney+. Looks like we have ourselves a puppet-off. Or a Pinocchio-off?

Del Toro originally announced his stop-motion movie back in 2008 and has been through different combinations of filmmakers on its journey to the screen, struggling to find studio support for the ambitious, darkly hewed story. Currently, del Toro and Claymation veteran Mark Gustafson (who was director of animation on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ in 2009) are listed as co-directors, and the script is credited to del Toro and Patrick McHale, though Gus Grimly and Matthew Robbins have both contributed through the years.

The teaser simply lists the film as coming in December of this year – with luck, Netflix will give it a theatrical release ahead of its appearance on the streaming service. After all, don’t we want to see a fantasy film from Guillermo del Toro on a big movie screen?
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January 24, 2022
Movie Review: ‘Don’t Look Up’

Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Don’t Look Up’

Currently in theaters before streaming on Netflix on December 24th is the new comedy from director Adam McKay (‘The Big Short,’ ‘Vice’) called ‘Don’t Look Up.’ The film is a political satire that follows two scientists as they desperately try to convince the media, the President, and a politically divided United States that an asteroid scheduled to collide with Earth in six-months will destroy all life on the planet.

The new movie features a very impressive cast that includes Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio (‘The Revenant’), Jennifer Lawrence (‘Silver Linings Playbook’), Mark Rylance (‘Bridge of Spies’), Cate Blanchett (‘Blue Jasmine’), and Meryl Streep (‘The Iron Lady’), as well as Jonah Hill (‘Moneyball’), Tyler Perry (‘Gone Girl’), Timothée Chalamet (‘Dune’), Ron Perlman (‘Drive’), and pop singer Ariana Grande. The result is a clever comedic satire that has something important to say about the world we live in and presents it in an entertaining way with fantastic over-the-top performances from the entire cast.

The film begins when astronomers Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence) and Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) discover an asteroid larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs will crash into Earth, destroying all life in approximately six months. They immediately notify NASA and are sent to Washington to debrief President Orlean (Streep) and her son and Chief of Staff, Jason Orlean (Jonah Hill). However, preoccupied with getting her Supreme Court nominee passed by the Senate and a personal scandal of her own, President Orlean dismisses the scientists and declares that they will “sit on this,’’ and not report it to the media.

Frightened for the future of mankind and not trusting that the President will do the right thing, Mindy and Dibiasky contact a newspaper and agree to go on a popular political morning show hosted by Brie Evantee (Blanchett) and Jack Bremmer (Perry). But when the talk show hosts don’t take the scientists seriously, Kate loses her composer and blurts out on TV that “everyone is going to die.” In the aftermath, Kate becomes a national laughingstock and Dr. Mindy becomes a hero for being the “handsome scientist.” He eventually gets caught-up in his own celebrity and leaves his wife and family for a relationship with Brie. But, when the President’s approval ratings begin to go down, she starts to take the crisis seriously, realizing that saving the planet is the only way she will be reelected.

Working with the scientists, the President enacts a plan to send Colonel Ben Drask (Perlman) into space to blow up the asteroid. However, just as the plan is about to work, tech billionaire Peter Isherwell (Rylance) contacts the President asking her to abort the mission, and she agrees, much to the dismay of Randall and Kate. Isherwell has discovered that the precious minerals required to make cell phones and computers will soon be depleted on Earth, and that the asteroid possesses an endless supply of the needed materials, which will make them billions of dollars in the process. Their plan is to allow the asteroid to get into our orbit, then send tiny drones to land on it and begin drilling so that pieces fall to Earth but are small enough that it does not destroy it. This news divides the country, with those against it trending on Twitter with #JustLookUp, and its supporters chanting at rallies, “Don’t Look Up.” As the world debates and waits to see if Isherwell and the President’s plan will work, Kate and Randall try to pick up the pieces of their own personal lives, which have been devastated by their new-found celebrity.

Writer and director Adam McKay, who began his career helming Will Ferrell comedies like ‘Anchorman’ and ‘Talladega Nights,’ made a stark turn to political satire with 2015’s brilliant ‘The Big Short,’ which earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He followed it up with the 2018 biopic ‘Vice,’ which also earned him Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. ‘Don’t Look Up’ is not quite as good as ‘The Big Short,’ which in my opinion is a recent classic. But it is a much stronger film than ‘Vice,’ which was a slow movie that was really only carried by Christian Bale’s commanding performance as former Vice President Dick Cheney. Basically, using the plot of ‘Armageddon’ as a mirror to the pandemic and how our divided country became more divided because of a worldwide health crisis, was a stroke of brilliance and creates the poignant comedy of the film.

McKay’s script also spoofs several real-life people, as Streep and Hill are clearly playing Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, respectively, Cate Blanchett is a version of cable news hosts Megan Kelly and Mika Brzezinski, and DiCaprio’s Dr. Mindy is a substitute for Anthony Fauci. But while the world of ‘Don’t Look Up’ clearly mirrors our own, McKay makes it clear that this is a fictional universe as comedian Sarah Silverman and journalist Ashleigh Banfield play characters similar to whom they really are, a podcast host and a reporter, respectively, but are given fictional names to demonstrate that this is not happening in “our” world yet, but it certainly could.

While I loved almost all of the performances, let me start with the one I liked the least, and that was Mark Rylance. The Oscar winner is playing Peter Isherwell as a Steve Jobs/Jeff Bezos/Elon Musk type of character, and he does it quite well, except he’s basically playing the same role he did in ‘Ready Player One.’ Since the characters are so similar, I would have appreciated another casting for Isherwell, or at the very least having Rylance portray the character in a different way.

Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio give very strong comedic performances and have a nice chemistry together in the film. They both balance the comedy and drama well, but it’s DiCaprio who is surprisingly hilarious as a decent family man who gets wrapped up in his own celebrity. Lawrence’s character is a little one-note for the first half of the film but reaches a new level when paired with Timothée Chalamet in the third act. Rob Morgan (Mudbound) is also worth mentioning and is very good as a scientist who helps Randall and Kate.

Tyler Perry and Cate Blanchett steal every scene they are in as a mock-version of MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’ but it’s Blanchett who is truly wonderful as a news anchor more obsessed with power and celebrity than the truth. She is the character that tries to corrupt Dr. Mindy and challenges his values, and the actress is great opposite DiCaprio. I think Blanchett’s performance is so good that she would definitely be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar if it wasn’t for one thing … and that one thing is Meryl Streep!

Meryl Streep’s brilliant and commanding performance as essentially a female version of Donald Trump is all anyone is going to talk about after seeing this film and unfortunately, it will take the oxygen out of any conversation that might have taken place about nominating Blanchett. In some ways, correctly so, as Streep is certainly the comedic centerpiece of this film and gives a completely believable over-the-top performance. Streep will probably get a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role, as she usually gets nominated for just about every film she makes. But this time it will be well deserved as the movie only works if you buy into her ridiculous character, which thanks to her performance, you do.

I also have to mention Jonah Hill, who as the President’s son and Chief of Staff, gives one of the most sarcastic, funny yet mean-spirited performances of his career. The actor creates a pathetic and outrageously obnoxious character that you absolutely hate but still look forward to seeing in every scene he’s in because you know he’ll have the funniest lines. In the end, Adam McKay has delivered another funny, smart, and poignant political satire, the kind of movie that is not made much anymore, that features strong performances and an important story that reflects our own society.

‘Don’t Look Up’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
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December 13, 2021
Movie Review: ‘Nightmare Alley’

Rooney Mara and Bradley Cooper in ‘Nightmare Alley’

Opening in theaters on December 17th is the new neo-noir thriller from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro entitled ‘Nightmare Alley,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. The film stars Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (‘A Star is Born’) as a 1940s carnival con-man turned famous mentalist who meets his match in a psychiatrist played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (’Blue Jasmine’).

In addition to Cooper and Blanchett, the movie also features an impressive cast that includes Academy Award nominees Rooney Mara (‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’), Toni Collette (‘The Sixth Sense’), Willem Dafoe (‘Platoon’), Richard Jenkins (‘The Shape of Water’), and David Strathairn (‘Good Night, and Good Luck), as well as Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen (‘Melvin and Howard’). The result is another absolute masterpiece from Guillermo del Toro, a visually stunning and extremely disturbing movie that actually gets better the more you think about it after viewing, which features Bradley Cooper in the best performance of his career thus far.

The film begins by introducing us to a mysterious drifter named Stan (Cooper), who gets a job at a carnival doing odd jobs in the early 1940s. One of his jobs includes working with Clem (Dafoe) running the “freak show.” The “freak,” as Clem explains, is a “fake,” and is actually just a local drunk that they bribe with booze to eat live chickens in front of an audience. Eventually, Stan befriends Pete (Strathairn) and Zeena (Collette), who are “mentalists” at the carnival, but are actually just con-artists. Pete begins teaching Stan some of his tricks, but Stan wants to learn more and attempts to read Pete’s book of secrets. Stan soon starts a relationship with Molly (Mara), who plays the “electric lady” in the show. When a local sheriff threatens to close down the carnival, Stan steps up and uses his new “powers” to convince the cops to let them go. Stan and Molly eventually marry and leave the carnival to start an act of their own.

The film then flashes forward several years, and we find the couple performing a successful “mentalist” act for wealthy socialites in the big city. Stan and Molly now have a very extravagant life, living in hotels and driving fancy cars, a long way from their carnival days. Molly is happy, but yearns for more attention from Stan, who is obsessed with his own fame and ambition. The trouble begins during one of their performances, when a psychiatrist named Dr. Lilith Ritter (Blanchett) challenges Stan and is skeptic of his abilities. Stan is able to “con” his way out of it but becomes captivated with Lilith and eventually becomes seduced by her to con wealthy businessman, Ezra Grindle (Jenkins). But when the con goes wrong, it will threaten not only Stan’s relationship with Molly and everything he’s achieved, but it will also threaten his life.

With ‘Nightmare Alley,’ director Guillermo del Toro is able to infuse the film with all the strange elements of the macabre he loves including societal outcasts and the supernatural, which creates a tone and a mood that is completely del Toro’s own. While based on the original novel, technically it is a remake, since the source material was first adapted into the 1947 movie starring Tyrone Power. However, del Toro has made a film that stands completely on its own, and in many ways is his most very personal movie.

I have to admit, I wasn’t really sure how much I enjoyed the movie while I was actually watching it, but I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it, and the movie just gets better the more I relive it in my head. Del Toro has a vision that is truly unique to him, and the Oscar winning filmmaker masterfully builds the suspense and mystery throughout the film. While I did guess the twist ending before it happened, I believe del Toro spread clues throughout the movie like breadcrumbs, so the audience could play along and “solve the mystery” before the conclusion was actually revealed. This gives the entire story a “predetermined nature,” in a sense saying that there was nothing Stan could do, he was always destined for this outcome, something that the character shockingly says out loud in the movie’s final moments.

Del Toro filled the film with some of the best character actors working today including Richard Jenkins, Tim Blake Nelson, Clifton Collins Jr., Mary Steenburgen and, del Toro’s constant collaborator, Ron Perlman. Willem Dafoe feels right at home playing the untrustworthy Clem, who is really our introduction to the carnival world. But it’s Toni Collette and David Strathairn as Stan’s mentalist mentors Zeena and Pete Krumbein, respectively, who really stand out. Collette gives a warm yet vulnerable performance, while you sympathize with Strathairn’s down-on-his-luck character. Rooney Mara is also wonderful as Molly, the best thing that ever happened to Stan, unfortunately he doesn’t know it. Mara plays her character with a sweetness and a naïveté that is in stark contrast to Stan’s unbridled ambition.

Coming off of very strong performances this year in both ‘The French Dispatch’ and ‘Don’t Look Up,’ Cate Blanchett gives another marvelous turn that could earn her an Oscar nomination. As Dr. Lilith Ritter, Blanchett is cold and calculating, and every bit of a match for Stan. Blanchett’s role embodies the idea of a Femme Fatale, and the actress is excellent at conveying her character’s motivations in the subtlest of ways. The actress is absolutely electrifying in the role and has great chemistry with Cooper. But it’s Bradley Cooper’s magnetic, powerhouse performances that really makes ‘Nightmare Alley’ worth seeing. Cooper puts on a masterclass of acting and absolutely loses himself in the role.

I absolutely loved ‘A Star is Born’ and thought Cooper deserved an Oscar for that role, but this is easily the best work of his career. While we all know that it has been predetermined that this is “Will Smith’s year,” and that he will definitely win an Oscar for ‘King Richard,’ I wouldn’t be cleaning off the mantelpiece just yet if I was the former-Fresh Prince as Cooper could definitely give Smith a run for his money this coming award season. Cooper’s performance is multi-layered, as playing Stan requires him to really portray three different types of characters at once, including a mysterious but ambitious young man, a successful socialite, and a washed up drunk. The actor excels at portraying all three aspects of the character and delivers a believable, well-rounded performance.

In the end, ‘Nightmare Alley’ may be based on previous source material but feels completely like it originated in the head of Guillermo del Toro. The material is synonymous with the filmmaker’s sensibilities and is a haunting piece of neo-noir cinema, grounded by an outstanding performance from Bradley Cooper.

‘Nightmare Alley’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
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December 5, 2021