Film Capsules

Curious what’s happening with the current movie lineup? We’ve got all the answers you need

Hypocrisy in the New Space Jam Movie?

Nostalgia and outdated pop culture are a heck of a combination, and they’re a combo that generally doesn’t end well.

The Warner Bros’ reboot of Joe Pytka’s cult comedy “Space Jam” (1996) appears to be testing this formula — at least based on the new trailer for Malcolm D. Lee’s “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”

Revisiting the original as an adult, I came to three conclusions: 1.) Nearly all of the ’90s pop culture references are obsolete now. 2.) Professional athletes should probably stick to the court rather than experiment with acting. And, 3.) The soundtrack is still the best part of the movie.

But before we could joke about the sequel being an obvious, easy cash grab, it’s important to note that there is some highly distracting and possibly obtuse hypocrisy in the trailer that was quickly acknowledged on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit. Unlike the first film, which just featured all the classic Looney Tunes characters, plus some new cartoon faces alongside basketball superstar Michael Jordan, this new flick is tossing everything at the wall, and including nearly all of the properties the studio currently owns, next to LeBron James.

This includes the Scooby-Doo gang, the flying monkeys from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), Jim Carrey’s alter-ego in “The Mask” (1994), Pennywise, and from It (2017), Batman, Superman and Matrix villains, Mama Fratelli from The Goonies (1985) and even the title character of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Someone at Warner Bros clearly saw Phil Johnston & Rich Moore’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (2018) and Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” (2018), and thought, “Yes, let’s make a Space Jam sequel as an excuse to do our own version of this.”

This would be amusingly obvious if it weren’t for some more controversial character cameos also spotted in the new trailer. The Droogs from Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), the War Boys of George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), and the White Walkers of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” (2011-19) all make an appearance. The first two are from R-rated movies and the third a TV-MA cable series, and all feature graphic violent content. Why are these characters making appearances in a family friendly fantasy-comedy? It would be one thing to have them as blink-and-you’ll-miss-it background Easter eggs for the parents watching the movie, but the Droogs are front and center of a whole shot. These additions are not only peculiar, but almost hilariously bewildering after Warner and Lee went out of their way to claim the new movie would be more progressive by making Lola Bunny less sexy and more girl-power-heavy, while snubbing Pepe Le Pew’s presence.

Lola’s altering is whatever to me. Looking back on the first “Space Jam,” she was a bit alluring, but was also portrayed as a good basketball player, so the sex appeal didn’t make much of a difference for me as a kid. Pepe’s absence is not surprising considering that the character’s schtick is very dated. For those who don’t remember or are unaware, Pepe is a skunk with a French accent who is constantly trying to woo a female cat, Penelope, he is smitten with. Only issue is she’s disgusted by his stench and is constantly trying to rush away, while Pepe is oblivious to both his odor and her repulsion.

While watching some of the old Pepe cartoon shorts contemporarily on YouTube, it is a little awkward to see the skunk so physically up in the cat’s personal space while she’s not interested in him at all, even if the gag is toward his delusion. What’s funny is Pepe originally was featured in “Space Jam” 25 years ago, but with all his flirtations and advancements missing. When it comes to generally politically incorrect content in their classic cartoons, Warner usually begins the shorts with a special disclaimer as a warning and reminder that the studio’s current views aren’t relevant to half a century ago.

This is generally a tactic I prefer over a studio like Disney, which has a habit of hiding the controversial material like it didn’t exist. But if that’s the route Warner Bros is choosing to go with Pepe Le Pew this time around, they should at least be genuine with it and not make it completely obvious it’s only performative — especially when you feature R-rated famous movie/TV characters inappropriately in a PG-rated comedy.

Godzilla vs. Kong Who would have guessed that the film to welcome back the traditional movie theater experience amidst the pandemic was not Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” (2020) or Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder

Woman 1984” (2020), but Adam Wingard’s “Godzilla vs. Kong?” As with the Planet of the Apes reboots in the 2010s, this was a seemingly unnecessary franchise that we probably didn’t need, yet we got it anyway — and surprisingly, it turned out mostly decent. When Gareth Edwards’ “Godzilla” (2014) debuted, it was given intriguing and effective marketing, yet a lukewarm reception from viewers. A similar happened with Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), though rather than being accused of being boring, it was just a little too schlocky.

Now, following Michael Dougherty’s “Godzilla: King of Monsters,” does Warner Bros’ “MonsterVerse” finally take off?

Like with most epic, action blockbusters, there are not only giant monsters in “Godzilla vs. Kong,” but a wide variety of characters as well. Back on Skull Island, geologist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) and linguist Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) are studying King Kong’s behavior and origins with the unexpected help of Ilene’s deaf adolescent daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who appears to have a special connection with the colossal ape. On the other side of the world, paranoid podcaster Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), and high schoolers Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) and Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), team up to track down what they believe is a genocide plot involving Godzilla led by shady tech company head Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir). Eiza González, Lance Reddick, Shun Oguri and Kyle Chandler make up the rest of the cast of familiar faces. The most common complaint about the new Kong and Godzilla flicks is that the excitement of the action is brought down by the dull subplots involving the humans. Well, “Godzilla vs. Kong”

From Page 8 is a possible case of “be careful what you wish for,” because this is officially a 113-minute non-stop action sequence with no character development or arcs in sight.

The chase and battle sequences are eye candy for all with impressive and vibrant special effects. If you feel comfortable and healthy enough to visit a movie theater already open near you, I would definitely say Wingard’s new feature fully lives up to the big screen experience. The cast themselves are fine, though basically just good looking, and their uninteresting roles only to lead the monsters along the way. Dennison in particular is not so much amusing comic relief, but more Exposition: the Character.

But I will say that out of all the MonsterVerse efforts so far, Wingard really nailed the tone and atmosphere of a traditional action-adventure blockbuster from the 1980s-1990s. There are moments of “Godzilla vs. Kong” that reminded me of Travis Knight’s “Bumblebee” (2018), in which you get a subtle sense of nostalgia and a past era, without it coming across as pandering. This, as well as Wingard knowing how to craft and make the action scenes entertaining, have the visuals of GvK almost make up for the lack of interesting characters or plot. Nomadland

It feels strange to say, but in many ways Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” getting released in the middle of the pandemic last December might have been the best thing to happen to the indie drama. In any other fall movie awards season, it most likely would have been buried beyond the usual critics groups who branch outside of the mainstream. But, at a time when most of the supposedly good movies are still a ways away, Zhao’s and the film’s lead star and producer Frances McDormand have a big chance of Oscar glory.

Though one could easily label her a movie star with her already two Oscar wins, McDormand is at heart a successful character actress who chooses to ignore the glam and sparkle of Hollywood for meatier and more interesting roles. Whether it’s husband Joel Coen’s “Fargo” (1996), Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” (2000), or Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017), you can expect her to stand out on her own.

The thespian is at her prime once again as the center of “Nomadland” while playing a fictional widowed nomad named Fern. When the Nevada local loses both her job and husband in 2011 amidst the housing recession, she chooses to live out of a van, roaming middle America with odd jobs on her own. While on the road, Fern discovers many other people, from middle age to elderly, are also living in vans, just like her. “Nomadland” is one of those indie movies that effectively features two famous actors — McDormand and David Straitharn — while the rest of the cast are complete newcomers (in this case real life nomads). McDormand and Straitharn are experienced and talented enough to not seem out of place in the camping scenes with the locals, with the former also carrying the nature sequences on her own.

Zhao does double duty as both the film’s director and editor, with help from some gorgeous, natural cinematography from Joshua James Richards, and a pretty, simple music score by Ludovico Einaudi. The Chinese filmmaker’s previous feature, “The Rider” (2017), brought attention to contemporary cowboys, and made a splash on the festival circuit and with critics. She impresses again with another group of Americans who aren’t talked about much. It was supposedly McDormand herself who reached out to Zhao to direct the new indie film after reading Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century. This makes sense when you watch the director’s work and feel a genuine understanding and appreciation for the greater, modest countryside. One thing I did find a bit amusing is that at the start of the movie, Fern works for Amazon part-time. Yet, “Nomadland” is produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures and distributed through Hulu for streaming, even though the shopping company isn’t portrayed particularly negatively. Whatever the case, “Nomadland” is one for film fans who appreciate intuitive acting and atmospheric direction. The United States vs. Billie Holiday Jazz and R&B superstar Billie Holiday is an icon the same way fellow singers Judy Garland and Janis Joplin are, with a troubled personal life and premature death in 1959 a part of her legacy. When you hear Holiday’s classics like ‘God Bless the Child,’ ‘Did I Remember?’ or — most famously —‘Strange Fruit,’ you don’t just think of the brilliant performance, production, and talent. You also think of the fact

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