Catching Up – Late Nov.
Transformers One (PG)
As of now, we officially have two “good” Transformers movies, and the new one is good enough that you might not mind getting a sequel or two. “Transformers One” is the first fully-animated Transformers movie since “The Transformers Movie” taught a generation of kids about the harsh realities of toy marketing back in 1986.
Josh Cooley’s “T-One” is also an origin story, provided you disregard—or likely, just don’t remember—all the incoherent flashback origin material randomly strewn around the wreckage of the Michael Bay films. The basic idea is that the two main characters in the Transformers universe—alpha hero Optimus Prime and super-baddie Megatron—used to be buddies back on their home world of Cybertron, until one fateful day when their lives changed forever…
There’s a freshness and creativity to “Transformers One” that has been sorely lacking in most of the attempts to get the “robots in disguise” on the big screen. “Transformers One” isn’t exactly Shakespeare, but longtime fans of the franchise will enjoy some genuine gravitas as we watch Optimus and Megatron realize their respective destinies in a third act that delivers more than you might expect.
Along with “Bumblebee” and the 1986 film (minus all the killing your favorite characters and replacing them with new toys to buy), “Transformers One” feels like the kind of movie 80s kids wanted from their favorite toys. The spirit and energy of the original series is there, as well as plenty of nostalgic nods, such as the inclusion of several other longtime fan favorite characters.
“Transformers One” isn’t the best animated film you’re going to get from 2024, but it’s a lot better—a lot better—than you probably expected it to be.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (PG-13)
Technically, “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” is a documentary. But you could also argue it’s a piece of animation. And given its European setting, it’s also a foreign film. However you categorize it, it’s compelling.
Benjamin Ree’s film tells the story of a young man named Mats Steen, who spent most of his life confined to a wheelchair thanks to a debilitating disease. Because of his physical limitations, his parents feared their son was being deprived of many of life’s joys. But at his passing, an account password to his computer revealed that he’d been living a fascinating life online the whole time.
Through online gaming platforms, Mats had made social connections—and even romantic connections—with a host of fellow gamers, all under the pseudonym Ibelin. The film animates many of these online interactions, and much of the documentary plays out in this virtual world. We also get lots of talking head interviews with many of his associates and family, and altogether “Remarkable Life” explores compelling questions about the role of technology in our lives, and the nature of human connection.
A Quiet Place Day One (PG-13)
I will always remember the original “A Quiet Place” for managing to get a theater full of movie goers to finally put their phones away and shut up during a whole movie. The whole, “be silent or they’ll get you” concept was a little watered down for the follow-up sequel (which was the first official screening to get canceled because of COVID-19), and for “Day One,” we’re almost back to routine sci-fi/horror territory.
As you can imagine, “Day One” is a chronicle of the initial invasion of those sonar-seeking aliens. This time we follow the chaos via a terminally ill hospice patient named Samira (Lupita Nyong’o), who has the misfortune of taking a field trip to Manhattan the day the world ended. Even as the airborne military advises survivors to make their way to southern ports for evacuation, she and her cat head for a favorite pizza place to go out in style. Along the way, they hook up with a traumatized man named Eric (Joseph Quinn), who just won’t go off on his own and leave them to their chosen (or at least her chosen) demise.
Again, as the concept continues to get watered down, “Day One” feels like a more routine entry in the “Quiet Place” franchise. A decent watch, but nothing special you’ll regret missing. The more notable aspect of the film is its compelling visuals, assuming you find post-apocalyptic cityscapes compelling.
DiDi (R)
Every once in a while I catch myself thinking that if I had to go back and do junior high and/or high school over again, I’d be so much happier, because of all my adult wisdom and perspective. Then I see a movie like Sean Wang’s “DiDi” and remember that I have no concept of what kids are dealing with these days.
The funny thing is that “DiDi” doesn’t take place in “these days.” It’s set in 2008, at the dawn of the Age of Social Media. As such, it is a poignant, relatable, and at times horrifying portrait of modern adolescence, with hints of the nightmares to come. The story is built around the experience of an Asian teenager named Chris (Izaac Wang), who is just trying to navigate the terrors of friends and girls and school with minimal damage. This is hard enough thanks to Chris’s natural tendency to submarine every one of his interactions with awkwardness and odd behavior, but it doesn’t help that everyone around him seems to also be a bad influence.
The one rock in his life is his mother (Joan Chen), who he of course resents and ignores. She’s effectively a single mom, and her subplot about trying to be a good mother and holding onto her hopes to be a successful artist are as relatable to adult viewers as Chris’s stumblings are to anyone who has been a teenager.
These universal qualities overcome the era-specific references to MySpace and 2000’s smartphones, and in spite of a rough journey—featuring plenty of rough and vulgar dialogue—“Didi” is a heartfelt if often heartbreaking story. For anyone who has made it out of adolescence, it will make you grateful you never have to go back.