OPINION:
Apple TV+ seems to be aiming “The Family Plan” at a mom-dad-and-the-kids crowd. But discerning families might want to opt for a better plan. “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire,” you get a bit of an eye-catching mess. Lenny’s sexual proclivities, along with his drug use, will make this film a no-go for many potential viewers, but there’s another tension in “Maestro” that is more positive and, ironically, less question and more answer.
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The Family Plan – Streaming on Apple+
Lots of films have attempted to blend goofy comedy with high-energy action. Some have also embraced the alluring idea of a protagonist having a secret past and a certain set of skills that no one knows about.
Pulling all those cinematic threads together in a nicely woven tapestry, however, is no easy task. And Apple TV+’s “The Family Plan” ends up being more of a disheveled knot.
Granted, this streaming service construct does have a “True Lies” feel about it (though it delivers on that movie’s feel with far less charm and style). It also gives us a charismatic cast in the form of stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan. And it cheers the idea of families unplugging and finding time to connect and bond.
But everything else about this pic is a jumble. The jokes miss; the story cuts are jagged and odd feeling; and the whole thing is buried under a layer of violence, crude language and sexual quips.
Apple TV+ seems to be aiming “The Family Plan” at a mom-dad-and-the-kids crowd. But discerning families might want to opt for a better plan.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Rebel Moon – Streaming on Netflix
What do you get when you crib from a whole bunch of beloved films, slather on some spectacular visual effects and package the whole thing for Netflix?
In the case of “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire,” you get a bit of an eye-catching mess.
This “Rebel Moon” movie—the first of a rumored trilogy—parrots a great many well-known flicks. It takes its most obvious queues from Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” and John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven.” You can see echoes of “The Lord of the Rings” and the “Star Wars” films—especially the Mos Eisley cantina scene. (Indeed, Director Zack Snyder originally pitched it as a “Star Wars” film.)
But when I watched it, it reminded me, in a way, of “The Beastmaster.” And “Krull.” And loads of other fantasy/sci-fi flicks made in the 1980s and ‘90s that were kinda fun, but also pretty terrible.
Certainly, the visual effects found in Rebel Moon far outstrip those found in “The Beastmaster.” And certainly one can always get behind a bunch of plucky combatants take on an evil empire … like we see in “Star Wars.” And “Lord of the Rings”. And “Seven Samurai.” And—
You get the idea. While visually impressive, Rebel Moon is a copycat, self-serious slog that’s eclipsed by the movies it pulls from.
You could say similar things about its family appeal, too. While it steers clear of blood spatter and thus, technically, stays true to its PG-13 rating, it somehow feels more violent than it is. Sensual asides, brushes with nudity and some strong language don’t help make this “Moon” get any prettier, from a let’s plop the family down in front of the TV perspective.
And the story’s strange, messianic asides muddy the galactic waters even more. Even its morals seem oddly inconsistent, decrying revenge in one moment while praising it the next.
I know director Zack Snyder has his fans. But for me, his movies tend to favor style over story. “Rebel Moon” doubles down on those tendencies, encouraging people to marvel at how it looks and to forget about what it is.
And what is it? Not a very good film.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Maestro – Streaming on Netflix
“Maestro” begins with a quote from the real Leonard Bernstein: “A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.”
That observation sets the tone for the emotional core of “Maestro”—the tension between Lenny’s love for his wife and his desire for same-sex intimacy.
Obviously, we don’t need to belabor the issues inherent with those desires here. Lenny’s sexual proclivities, along with his drug use, will make this film a no-go for many potential viewers.
But I do want to highlight another tension we find in “Maestro” that is more positive and, ironically, less question and more answer.
Early on in Lenny and Felicia’s marriage, she tells a friend that she can deal with Lenny’s foibles (a tacit reference to his homosexual leanings), but that’s because she doesn’t seem to care about that issue at this point. She says that she will not sacrifice anything—for Lenny or anyone else. “If I sacrifice, I completely disappear.”
When it seems that Lenny’s unrepentant lifestyle choices are indeed begging for a big sacrifice from her, Felicia—good as her word—disappears. In her absence, Lenny grows more hedonistic and out of control. He even tells a class of students that he vows to “Live the rest of my life … exactly the way that I want.”
But he breaks that self-centered vow. The two reunite. And—late in both of their lives, it seems—they come to understand that good marriages require us to give so much of ourselves. To sacrifice. To live not exactly the way we’d want, but in a way that honors and cherishes the other.
Felicia forgives and reconciles with Lenny. And for the rest of Felicia’s life, Lenny’s never far away from her. If he continued to hook up with guys during her battle with cancer, the film doesn’t show it. As she slowly succumbs to the ravages of that disease, he’s with her—with each painful step.
It’s telling that, in a late-in-life interview, Lenny seems to take a 180-degree turn from living life exactly as he might want. He tells the interviewer that he’s learned how important it is to be “sensitive to the needs of others. Kindness, kindness, kindness.”
What I write should not be taken as kudos for Felicia forgetting and forgiving Lenny’s same-sex relationships, or condoning future ones. Infidelity of any sort is a wicked blow to a relationship—so much so that it’s one of the only reasons the Bible gives for divorce. But I do want to highlight something that “Maestro” subtly acknowledges: Marriage, as it the case for perhaps all worthwhile relationships, is not about what we get from it. It’s what we give to it. Love is sacrifice.
“Maestro,” as problematic as it might be on so many levels, understands that truth. It’s too bad that lovely melody is surrounded by other, more dissonant, notes.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
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