One national pastime for many around the holidays is going to the movie theater and seeing the latest films — after spending time with family and stuffing yourself with food, of course. With that in mind, here’s a quick breakdown of the films I had the pleasure of watching over Thanksgiving break.

“Widows”

If you ever want to get into filmmaking, be sure to check out this film. Steve McQueen, from “12 Years a Slave,” is a master behind the camera and uses his skills to make a stylish and well-crafted piece of cinema. The opening sequence alone is a perfectly edited, shockingly violent scene that sets the tone for the film.

As for the rest of the story, “Widows” is a very interesting political thriller tied to the grief of several great woman leads. Viola Davis, as usual, and Elizabeth Debicki, in particular, steal the show and are given great characters to work with.

But there are a few flaws to the film, with one widow and several other characters given little room for development. However, as a realistic, deep-cutting political thriller, “Widows” is a must-see for any film fan.

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story”

Yes, that is the title. The ludicrous, full title of the film captures most of the issues with this movie.

Sony’s new adaptation of the Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” series is trying too hard to be like a superhero spy film while also staying true to the original novels. This adds up to a film with ridiculous action set pieces and unreal physics, along with a few character scenes with little emotion behind them.

Most of the acting in this film is solid and there are some gorgeous shots intertwined in the film. For the most part, the film is a serviceable action piece. But the decision to reboot the franchise with the fourth book in a five-part novel series says it all. The film fails to connect to new viewers by not showing them enough of the main characters, while also not attracting previous fans of the books or films by trying to turn Lisbeth Salander into James Bond.

While not terrible, the film is an overall hollow experience that fails to live up to the standard of the previous entries in the series.

“The Grinch” (2018)

Universal Studios is once again trying to make a profit off of Dr. Seuss’s classic stories. Universal’s adaptation of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” is taking a children’s book and attempting to make it into a feature-length film.

This film is not bad, though. There are some parts that are actually exciting, especially the strong animation. Some of the backgrounds are a little flat, but the foregrounds are bright, colorful and vibrant.

Kenan Thompson — that actor who’s been on “Saturday Night Live,” for more than a decade — provides a few laughs, while Danny Elfman from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is at his best composing the score. The movie even looks at the Grinch’s loneliness in a more dramatic angle than any other Grinch story before.

In spite of this, there are still plenty of reasons to get “grinchy” toward this film. Most attempts at humor fail, with many of the cheap slapstick moments going nowhere. Several characters — including Fred, the overweight reindeer, and most of Whoville — are filler roles. Pharrell Williams doesn’t have the distinguished voice to narrate the film and Angela Lansbury is wasted in only one short scene. The Grinch himself is not very memorable, in that he isn’t very funny nor menacing. He’s a safe Grinch.

Overall, this film is far more earnest and well-meaning than almost any other Dr. Seuss remake. There is less slapstick than most cash grab films and more scenes of quiet character development, like the original story.

While this is nowhere near as memorable as the original film, this Grinch is a sweet, inoffensive endeavor, heart for heart and hand in hand.

Patrick Gunn is a sophomore broadcast journalism major. His column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email Patrick at pagunn@syr.edu.

Published on November 26, 2018 at 12:23 am