The Mule (2018)

Inspired by true events from the 1980s, the title refers to the practice of transporting illegal drugs across borders, in this case American borders for a Mexican drug cartel by an octogenarian named Earl Stone (Eastwood).
Alas, outside of his courier role Earl is a pretty boring character. The semi-estrangement that exists between him and his family could've added colour, but it's sorely underdeveloped. An attempt to add tension and drama in the form of a pursuing DEA squad headed by an even more bland Bradley Cooper also falls mostly flat. Eastwood keeps things pleasingly traditional in style and direction, but the depth of character and/or interactions that were needed to keep such a one-note story engaging simply weren't there.

2½ pecans out of 5

Cat Shit One (2010)

A short CGI animation (approx 22 mins) directed by Kazuya Sasahara and based on Motofumi Kobayashi's manga of the same name. Technically promoted as the first episode of a series, to date it's the only one to appear, so I'm treating it as a short. It features armed bunnies in a middle eastern war zone. Furry mammals at war with foreign camels may seem comical on the surface, but the work is deadly serious and realistically violent. While the mo-cap animation often feels like video game FMV, the camera follows the action just like it would for live action, successfully placing the viewer in the thick of it.
The story follows two soldiers, Packy and Bota, as they attempt a rescue mission amidst superior enemy numbers. The characterisation is decent, considering how brief it is, and voices in the Japanese version are great.

3½ tailed gunners out of 5

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Four Vietnam vets return to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to retrieve two things that they were forced to leave behind when their tours of duty ended.
Dir. Spike Lee has used film as political commentary for decades, but I feel obliged to stress that he uses uncensored footage of real world atrocities at the film's beginning (and later) in service of such, arguably blurring any 'objectivity' of the original capture. The remainder of the film gives admirable but unequal importance to a number of social and moral issues, but it's awkwardly stitched together a lot of the time. Between the joins are some scenes that bore and some that stand proud alongside his work of yesteryear. Without meaning to detract from the wonderful performances by the rest of the cast, Delroy Lindo's superb presentation of a man who's slave to his shifting moods is what I'll remember most about Da 5 Bloods.

3 screen ratios out of 5

Shadow (2018)

A written intro tells of how two Kingdoms, Pei and Yang, joined forces to defeat a powerful third, and peacetime followed. But for some in the Kingdom of Pei the loss of their beloved Jing City is too much to bear - one such warrior orchestrates an elaborate plan from his cave to reclaim the lost territory.
It’s as beautiful as Dir. Yimou's previous period films, but in Shadow he paints with tones of grey, inspired by ancient Chinese ink art, with colour reserved mostly for skin tones and blood. The latter respects the cinematographer's dedication, too; it’s suitably red but mercifully not Hollywood super-red.
Establishing the political standings and cowardly and/or resentful attitudes of the main players makes much of the first two acts feel needlessly drawn-out, but the Shakespearean drama in the closing third helps to balance it out.

3 feminine moves out of 5

Boiling Point (1990)

Baseball is a popular sport in Japan. Masaki (Yūrei Yanagi) is a batter, but he isn't any good and his level of enthusiasm for the role appears to match his level in almost all things, which is visibly nil. A chance encounter at his place of employment leads to him drifting into Yakuza company, specifically an impulsive man named Uehara (Takeshi Kitano) and his two companions.
Dir. Kitano's second film saw his style evolve: a method of humour that's deadpan funny without seeming to have any actual jokes - although the loose construction can feel a little like tactically placed skits, so may be off-putting to some folks. It's not an ideal first Kitano film, but if you've seen and enjoyed any of his later (middle period) works, it can be a rewarding experience.

3 overtakings out of 5

Thunderbirds (2004)

A live-action version of Gerry + Sylvia Anderson's much-loved television show was a bad idea to begin with, but whoever decided that the story should have the original members of International Rescue incapacitated for the majority of the running time took the concept of bad ideas to a whole new level of injudiciousness. In place of the core team we get three of their kids, teens who must rise to the challenge and save the organisation's lauded reputation from the schemes of The Hood (Ben Kingsley - WTF?).
Honestly, it's as awful as it sounds. If you're a dedicated fan of the original series, then it may even be worse than it sounds. I kept hoping that the marionette version of International Rescue would fly in to meta-save the world from the live-action version, but it didn't happen.

1 ghastly green screen out of 5

Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019)

Celebrating Dolly's 50th year at the Grand Ole Opry is as good as reason as any to look back at her remarkable career to date. It's not a definitive look, by any means, but time spent with the star herself makes it wholly worthwhile for fans old and new. There's additional input from fellow songwriters and music business producers, and movie co-stars, most of whom share what the Tennessee-born songbird's heartfelt melodies mean to them.
The bigger than life persona that's like a smile personified keeps media attention on her movements, but it's the songs that make Dolly special. The documentary discusses and lightly dissects a few of them without lessening their power as stories of compassion, sincerity and sympathetic joy.

3 true feelings out of 5

Chennai Express (2013)

The Chennai Express is a train, aboard which forty-year-old bachelor Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) travels under the pretext of fulfilling the last wish of a recently departed family member. It's there that he meets Meenamma (Deepika Padukone), a woman who throws his plans, the fake one and the actual one, into chaos. The ridiculousness that surfaces therein isn't limited to the locomotive; it stays throughout most of the movie, much to my dismay.
When Dir. Rohit Shetty lets a scene play straight, things go okay, which makes me think that I'd have enjoyed the movie that could've been, but I sure didn't feel that way about the one that it is. Although the beautiful locations, both natural and man-made, were a treat for the eyes.

1½ slow runnings out of 5

VFW (2019)

It stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars, and it wears its influences large and proud on its sleeve, the most prominent being early John Carpenter films. In short, it's like a cross between Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and Escape from New York (1981), with some of Capcom's Dead Rising video game thrown in.
The basic plot has the residents of a veterans bar under siege from an army of angry druggies. For a while it's bloody great. I wanted to like it all, but the exaggerated colours of 80s nostalgia made me long for it to be over (or for the sun to come up). The music, however, I loved wholesale; it's as Carpenter-esque as the scenario and camerawork and remains captivating throughout.

2½ waltzes out of 5

Masquerade (1988)

An adult drama set in the world of rich folks, some of whom have little else to do besides sail boats and sleep with other people's wives. It's a lifestyle in which backstabbing and deceit go hand in hand, where sincerity and treachery are sometimes interchangeable, but not everyone is of that ilk. The naïve rich girl cliché is one such example, played by the softly spoken Meg Tilly, who fills the (designer) shoes well-enough. Rob Lowe is the suitor to her bank balance, a yachtsman whose objective is money. He's supposed to be surface charming and secretly dangerous, but he's as humdrum as he's been all the other times I've seen him act, which admittedly isn't very many. But as a whole, it feels like a post-watershed TV movie for bored housewives.

2½ cabin rats out of 5

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

Based upon parts of Stephen King's 1999 unified collection of the same name, it delves into the life of Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin). An adult at the beginning, the timeline drifts back to Bobby's eleventh birthday and the days that followed, specifically to events surrounding the appearance of an aged man named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) who had a special ability. The old man has a positive affect on the youth, but with every forward step into maturity comes the ache of knowing that once taken it's impossible to go back.
The film's best scenes occur one after another, which makes an impression at the time but result in the remainder of it seeming to move even slower by comparison; the nods to Stand by Me (1986) are similarly double-edged.

2½ inside straights out of 5