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The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell, 2020)

Anyone who saw director Leigh Whannell’s sci-fi thriller Upgrade in 2018 knew The Invisible Man would be better than Universal Picture’s failed beginning of The Dark Universe. This is how to properly do a remake of a classic horror film (looking at you, The Mummy).

With a reported $9 million budget, The Invisible Man squeezes tension and drama from the real-life horror concept of: how do you get away from a toxic relationship when no one will believe you?

Horror is at its best when it leans into our subconscious feelings, and the first two-thirds of The Invisible Man leans heavily into this to craft a relatable protagonist that the audience genuinely cares about in Cecilia, portrayed expertly by Elisabeth Moss. Whannell does a lot with a little here, slowly giving you information about Cecilia’s past abuses at the hand of the now-presumed-dead Adrian. Is Cecilia going insane, or is there actually an invisible person stalking her?

The answer, of course, is no. And that’s the biggest (only?) problem with the first two-thirds of the film: all the mystery assumes that the audience hasn’t seen any of the promotional marketing – or, for that matter, noticed that the title is literally The Invisible Man.

Because of this, the film doesn’t become truly great until the third act, when a shocking twist allows Whannell free reign to unleash his bag of sci-fi action tricks to give the audience the cathartic release they were waiting for. All of the The Invisible Man‘s best scenes are here – which is both a positive and a negative. I always say a movie’s finale is its most important ingredient, and this ending was so satisfying I had to physically restrain myself from dabbing.

Overall, the hype for this film is mostly deserved, albeit because of a tremendous final 40 minutes. For my money, Whannell’s best film is Upgrade, but I still absolutely recommend you see this in theaters.

[Side note – my girlfriend called this “the best horror movie I’ve ever seen”. But she also gave Frozen 2 a 10/10, so take that with a grain of salt.]

The Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge

The Elevator Pitch: (Invisible) men are trash.

The Score: 8.5/10

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Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan, 2020)

First things first: I’m sorry this is my first review of 2020, but did you really need me to tell you not to watch The Grudge, Like a Boss, Dolittle, The Turning, and The Rhythm Section?

Now that the dead zone of bad January movies is finally over, what I can tell you is this: you should watch Birds of Prey. As some critics have suggested, it’s the second half of the title – (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – that is what the film is truly about.

But I would argue this isn’t an issue, but rather the film’s greatest asset, serving a manic, engaging, colorful, and action-packed tone that sets Birds apart from the overcrowded superhero sub-genre.

I would be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t immediately give credit to star and producer Margot Robbie, who so fundamentally understands the character of Quinn that it is impossible to picture another actress in the role. Her frenetic mannerisms, and the film’s hectic pace, not only keep you engaged in the on-screen onslaught of action, but also place you firmly in Harley’s headspace. At times, the never-ending clash of music and jokes can get in the way of the story, but I’ll take Birds‘ exciting action over dark and depressing DCEU films like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman any day.

And how glorious the R-rated, bone-crunching action is. Chad Stahelski, mastermind beyond the stylized “gun-fu” action of the John Wick franchise, has an uncredited role as second unit photographer, punching up the action scenes with immaculately framed action choreography that feels like it’s leaping off the pages of a comic book.

Despite the rest of the titular “Birds” taking a backseat, Huntress and Black Canary do a lot with a little, thanks to strong performances by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Ball. However, the fourth Bird, portrayed by Rosie Perez, did suffer from the lack of character development, relegated to self-referential jokes poking fun at how two-dimensional she was.

I haven’t even talked about the scenery-chewing performances of Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina as the villainous Black Mask and Victor Zsasz – equally funny and intimidating charicatures.

Overall, Birds of Prey simply packs a ton of fun into just 109 minutes – this is the best action, the best humor, the best protagonist, and the best antagonist the DC Extended Universe has yet to offer. It simultaneously feels like an ode to quick serialized films of the past, while also being noticeably modern in its messages and casting. In an age when every superhero feels like it’s trying too hard to tie into a grand universe plan, Birds of Prey thrives as a film that stands proudly on its own, with kick-ass action and in-your-face humor.

The Cast: Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Ball, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina

The Elevator Pitch: John Wick + Kill Bill + Deadpool + cocaine

The Score: 8.75/10

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019)

Nowadays, Star Wars seems like it can only be talked about in hyperbole.

“The Force Awakens is the most unoriginal movie I’ve ever seen,” said the Star Wars fan who wanted something new instead of familiar.

“The Last Jedi did things to my childhood without even taking it to dinner first,” said the Star Wars fan who wanted something familiar instead of new.

“I would die for Baby Yoda,” said me.

And now, “The Rise of Skywalker is the worst Star Wars movie ever,” said Forbes.

While I disagree with Forbes writer Scott Mendelson, I can also see the argument. Rise is a film that is even more conflicted than its protagonist Rey, putting on clear display the total lack of planning from Disney in making this trilogy. At times, it feels like the actual clash is between J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, instead of our heroes and Emperor Palpatine. Still, there is a lot of fun to be had, despite an overstuffed and needlessly complicated story.

The Rise of Skywalker is three movies crammed into one, as J.J Abrams desperately attempts to simultaneously end his trilogy and the Skywalker Saga while also undoing the decisions Johnson made with The Last Jedi. As a result, RoS is so frantically paced that it has no time to breathe, and no time to let its characters naturally interact with each other. Certain lines and plot twists (which of course I won’t reveal) are so painfully obviously directed towards “fixing” TLJ that it completely takes you out of the story.

Others are just plain bad – a character is revealed as being a spy because he says “I’m the spy”. I wish I could see the writer’s room when they approved that one in the final draft.

In terms of the old cast, Emperor Palpatine, Lando, and Leia’s presence in the film holds no weight to the story, and is instead further evidence that Abrams is throwing everything at the screen and hoping it sticks. Palpatine is an especially needless addition – an exposition dump at the beginning of the film simply tells us this is the new main bad guy, and then the story moves along. This first act of exposition and MacGuffin-chasing sets a tone of remarkably low stakes and little danger, a major issue for what’s supposed to be the culmination of a 42-year story.

And yet – despite all the unnecessary story fluff and muddled direction, The Rise of Skywalker relishes in Star Wars adventure. Despite its relative unoriginality, Force Awakens established Abrams’ ability to mold relatable characters and familiar swashbuckling action, and there are leftover flashes of brilliance here.

While the non-stop pace is an issue for story cohesion, it also allows Rise to give us a lot of moments that are just flat-out fun, from shocking monsters to goofy new characters. Most of all, Poe and Finn are given much more to do here after being saddled with groan-worthy side plots in The Last Jedi.

Another positive – they cut back on the character of Rose, who is responsible for my least favorite scene of all time (I’m serious) in The Last Jedi when she sexually assaults Finn with a kiss on the lips in the middle of a battlefield.

The Rise of Skywalker‘s faults are largely because an overcorrection in responding to The Last Jedi – but it still mostly succeeds in delivering the exciting Star Wars adventure that die-hard fans are looking for. I’m left wondering what this trilogy could have been with one director at the helm for all three films.

The Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmind, Domhnall Gleeson

The Elevator Pitch: Pay money to see J.J. Abrams passive aggressively roast Rian Johnson

The Score: 7.5/10