Crisp Criticism - "The Mummy", "Cars 3", "The Hero", "My Cousin Rachel"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Mummy

Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day.

Such an abashedly corporate attempt to start (or reboot) a film franchise that there’s hardly room for a movie to exist. The result is sad and pathetic, as one watches everyone involved beg with all their might to be part of the cool kid’s table, most of all its miscast star.

d – Alex Kurtzman

w – David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman, Jon Spaihts, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet

ph – Ben Seresin

pd – Jon Hutman, Dominic Watkins

m – Brian Tyler

ed – Gina Hirsch, Paul Hirsch, Andrew Mondshein

p – Sarah Bradshaw, Sean Daniel, Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan

Cast: Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Russell Crowe

Cars 3 *

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, Lightning McQueen is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves.

A visually radiant and intermittently dynamic film from Pixar that offers virtually nothing new. Ageism and moving on to new adventures in life are the optimum themes here, both of which the studio has explored many times over. Despite being part of a franchise that people have found, at best, haphazard, the lack of both humour and anything relevant to say makes this the first out-and-out personality-less Pixar film.

d – Brian Fee

w – Brian Fee, Ben Queen, Eyal Podell, Jonathan E. Stewart, Kiel Murray, Bob Peterson, Mike Rich

ph – Kim White, Jeremy Lasky

pd – William Cone, Jay Shuster

m – Randy Newman

ed – Jason Hudak

p – Kevin Reher

Cast: Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Armie Hammer, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Nathan Fillion, Kerry Washington, Lea DeLaria, Tony Shalhoub, Paul Dooley, Cheech Marin, John Ratzenberger, Ray Magliozzi, Tom Magliozzi, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Margo Martindale

The Hero *

A former Western film icon is living a comfortable existence lending his voice to advertisements and smoking weed. After receiving a lifetime achievement award, he reexamines his life.

Despite a nice turn from Elliot, nothing here is terribly convincing with most relationships and situations feeling either hackneyed or frustratingly secondhand.

d – Brett Haley

w – Marc Basch, Brett Haley

ph – Rob Givens

pd – Eric J. Archer

m – Keegan DeWitt

ed – Brett Haley

cos – Alana Morshead

p – Sam Bisbee, Houston King, Erik Rommesmo

Cast: Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Krysten Ritter, Nick Offerman, Katharine Ross, Meiling Melançon, Todd Giebenhain

My Cousin Rachel *

A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.

Beautifully lit, but rather tame adaptation of a great and debaucherously dark novel. Michell presents certain details rather well but the whole lacks the teeth to make any kind of an impression.

wd – Roger Michell   (Based on the Novel by Daphne Du Maurier)

ph – Mike Eley

pd – Alice Normington

m – Rael Jones

ed – Kristina Hetherington

cos – Dinah Collin

p – Kevin Loader

Cast: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Holliday Grainger, Iain Glen, Andrew Knott, Andrew Havill, Poppy Lee Friar