By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
As the “Transformers” war between the good-guy Autobots and the evil Decepticons for the planet Cybertron continues, the origin story “Bumblebee,” set in the late 1980s, reveals how Bumblebee came to Earth and befriended a troubled teenage girl.
Still mourning the death of her mechanic father, feisty 18-year-old Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), who loves repairing automobiles, yearns for a car of her own.
Spying a faded yellow, 1967 Volkswagen Beetle in a San Francisco Bay-area junkyard, Charlie brings it home, determined to restore it.
While she’s tinkering, the Beetle suddenly morphs into an enormous alien robot. Terrified at first, “gear head “Charlie soon realizes she has a new, badass buddy and, together, they enthusiastically indulge in merry mischief.
But then nefarious Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick (voiced by Angela Bassett & Justin Theroux) arrive, convincing the gullible U.S. Military that they’re peaceful visitors, searching for a dangerous, intergalactic traitor.
Yet not everyone is fooled. As suspicious Sector 7 Agent Jack Burns (John Cena) notes, “They’re called Decepticons!”
For those unfamiliar with the back story, Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) dispatched warrior B-127 (voiced by Dylan O’Brien) on a scouting mission so that, in the future, other Autobots can relocate and protect Earth.
But a fiery crash-landing and a losing battle with Decepticon Blitzwing (voiced by David Sobolov) quickly sends severely damaged B-127 into hiding — until Charlie finds him and dubs him Bumblebee. Their relationship becomes quite endearing.
Working from a coming-of-age, Spielbergian script by Christina Hodson (“Unforgettable”), animator-turned-director Travis Knight (“Tito and the Two Strings”) and his VFX team recapture the inventiveness of Michael Bay’s 2007 action franchise original, adding sentiment and style.
And for those who associate Bumblebee with the more muscular Chevrolet Camaro — just wait!
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bumblebee” is a bittersweet 7. It’s sci-fi with a heart.
In the midst of the current opioid crisis, the theme of addiction and its accompanying torment is prevalent in the remake of “A Star Is Born,” “Beautiful Boy” and now “Ben Is Back.”
“I grew up in a family that was ravaged by alcoholism, so this type of material is deep in my bones,” says writer/director Peter Hedges, who cast his son, Lucas, as the titular 19 year-old who became dependent on prescription drugs.
In upstate New York on Christmas Eve, when Ben unexpectedly returns from almost four months in rehab, his appearance throws the Burns family into chaos. While Ben’s mother Holly (Julia Roberts) is delighted to see him, she’s doggedly determined to keep him clean for the next 24 hours. To that end, she cautiously hides her jewelry and empties the medicine cabinet.
Her husband/Ben’s stepdad (Courtney B. Vance), who took out a second mortgage to pay for Ben’s treatment, is more cynical, noting, “If he were black, he’d be in jail right now.” Ben’s sister (Kathryn Newton), agrees, particularly after the family returns from Christmas Eve church services to find the house ransacked and their dog Ponce stolen.
While Ben searches for Ponce, the plot thickens, particularly when he encounters destructive people from his past and gets sucked back into the dangerous world of drug-dealing.
“I’m not worth it,” Ben wails. So it becomes Holly’s quest to prove to Ben that, ultimately, his life is worth saving.
Not since “Erin Brockovich” has Julia Roberts delivered such an emotionally raw performance, one that’s matched by Lucas Hedges, who also starred in 2018’s “Boy Erased” and “Mid90s.”
Although Peter Hedges’ intentions are honorable, his pacing is erratic and uneven. He introduces pivotal characters, like the doctor-with-dementia who originally prescribed Ben’s painkillers, the mother of Ben’s girlfriend who overdosed, and a woman who used to buy drugs from Ben, only to have them rapidly evaporate.
On the Granger Gauge, “Ben Is Back” is a superficially insightful 6, emerging as yet another troubled teen saga.
In recent years, visionary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future,” “Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away”) has become obsessed with experimental technology, particularly motion-capture animation (“The Polar Express,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Beowulf”).
In “Welcome to Marwen,” he turns his attention to the fantasyland created by an eccentric artist with PTSD …
In his backyard in Kingston, New York, Mark Hogancamp has meticulously constructed a 1/6-scale World War II Belgian village named Marwen, where a plastic American G.I., Capt. Hogie (his alter-ego), battles Nazis with a heroic squadron of leggy, gun-toting, Barbie doll-like women.
Once a gifted illustrator, Mark (Steve Carell) is unable to draw. He suffers from extensive brain injuries, including amnesia, caused by a brutal ‘hate’ attack. The sentencing hearing for his five assailants is approaching, along with the art gallery opening of his photographic work.
Mark’s figurines include Anna (Gwendoline Christie), his nurse/caregiver; Julie (Janelle Monae), his physical therapist; Carlala (Eliza Gonzales), who cooks at the diner; Roberta (Merritt Wever) from the hobby shop; and Suzette (Leslie Zemeckis), his favorite porn actress.
A new ‘doll’ is added when syrupy sweet Nicol (Leslie Mann) moves in across the street. And Mark’s antidepressant addiction is personified by the evil witch Deja (voiced by Diane Kruger).
Clumsily scripted by director Robert Zemeckis and Caroline Thompson, it depicts Mark’s perverted perception of the world, superficially skimming over Mark’s preference for cross-dressing and fetish for women’s stilettos — which prompted the vicious attack.
“I collect women’s essence,” Mark explains. “I wear heels sometimes because they connect me to dames. I like dames.”
FYI: There’s a real Mark Hogancamp whose highly imaginative healing-through-art was chronicled in Jeff Malmberg’s insightful documentary “Marwencol” (2010).
On the Granger Gauge, “Welcome to Marwen” is a creepy 4, too full of campy artifice to be effective.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
