Displaying items by tag: Adam Sandler

SPACEMAN

US, 2024, 103 minutes, Colour.

Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, Lena Olin.

Directed by Johan Renck.

Spaceman is certainly a generic title. It could suggest a film about space exploration. It could suggest dramatic conflicts in space. And, it could suggest a variation on a space Odyssey.

In fact, there is something of all three possibilities here.

The star is Adam Sandler, many audiences not expecting to find him in such a serious performance after his decades of comedies, broad comedies, romantic comedies. However, in collaboration with Netflix, he has appeared in some serious roles including Uncut Gems and a particularly affecting performance as a coach in Hustle.

And, it should be said at the beginning, that Adam Sandler acquits himself very well as the spaceman, Jacub.

There is a technology side of this kind of film, the vast space craft in the future, its capacity for travelling even as far as Jupiter, the enormous interiors of the craft as well as all the signs for its maintenance, progress, and communication with. And, with a huge pink cloud hovering over Earth for several years, this is also space exploration, a mission with a single spaceman, well trained and prepared, already six months out on his travel towards Jupiter to discover the nature of this pink cloud.

But, in a different kind of way, it is also something of a space Odyssey. In 1968, Stanley Kubrick brought the phrase, Space Odyssey, into our vocabulary (over a year before the 1969 moon landing). While there is a great deal of space exploration in Kubrick’s masterpiece, there is also a philosophical (even theological) probing of what is beyond human experience, the transcendent, symbolised in that film by a vast evenly planed monolith, appearing in prehistoric times, but also present and moving through the future universe. (And one can think of such films as Gravity, First Man, Ad Astra.)

But, this time the transcendent is introduced highly imaginatively, a giant spider creature tarantula-like, an alien whose community has been destroyed, who is a survivor, interested in preserving humans, learning the language, trying to understand the motivation of the exploration. He is called Hanus and is voiced persuasively by Paul Dano.

At first, Jacub is wary, hostile, but with the conversations and the questions, gradually a report between the two, Hanus and his probing, Jacob, having already experienced some personal crisis with his wife leaving him and not communicating with him, forced to look into himself, testing himself about what he really values, even risking everything to rescue Hanus.

Which means that the transcendent themes and the personal, family themes are brought together.

Carey Mulligan plays Jacub’s disaffected wife, Lena Olin has a cameo as her mother, and Isabella Rossellini has a significant cameo role as the very businesslike public relations person behind the mission.

The film has been directed by Johan Renck, prolific video music video director, also of the challenging television series, Chernobyl.

1. The title and focused? Expectations? Space exploration? A space Odyssey?
2. The director, his reputation, videos, television series, Chernobyl? Adam Sandler in the central role, audience expectations, comic, serious?
3. The vision of the future, space exploration? The strange pink cloud hovering over earth? The origins in Jupiter and beyond? The boundaries of the universe, its mystery, evolution, origins? Spacecraft and their complexities, the single spaceman? Contact with control? The visuals of the craft, space, of the mystery?
4. Jakub? The original novel, Czech Republic, keeping the characters and setting? His life, the flashbacks, relationship with his father, informant, politics, his death? A cloud hovering over him? The flashbacks and the encounters with Lenka, love, flirting, the marriage, her pregnancy, the miscarriage? His professionalism, but his absence? Always being away, next pregnancy? The decision to leave him? The videos and his memories, his not living up to them? Attempts to contact her, moving away? Her refusal, going to stay with her mother, the contacts and the excuses, the cover? The effect on him?
5. The contact on the ground, Peter, friendship, the contact, the support, the subterfuge about Lenka leaving, the press conference, Tuma and her poise, PR, covering the situation, her authority, going to visit Lenka, not communicating that she had left? The visit and talk?
6. Jakub, his vision, exploration, the mystery are science, transcendence?
7. Hanus and his appearance, the form of the spider, the visuals of the spider, size, movement, threat? Real? An alien, his voice, explanation of origins, the attack, adrift, learning and observing about humans, language? Initial interactions with Jakub? The voice and tone to Paul Dano?
8. Lenka, the present, her reaction to Jakub, leaving, the message, going to see her mother, her mother support, the pregnancy, memories of happy days, the miscarriage, sadness, Jakub and his absences? The appeal to her to make contact?
9. Hanus, his presence, Jakub’s initial reaction, fear, antipathy, the breaking down the barriers, the pace to suit with Hanus, the talk, the revelation, the cosmic dimensions, origins, the interactions between the two, companionship, emotions, Hanus in space, Jakub and the rescue? The effect of Hanus always referring to Jakub as “skinny human”.
10. The breaking of the mission, the change in Jakub, the journey becoming personal? And the commitment to Hanus?
11. The robbery with the South Koreans, mentioning them, the pursuit, the rescuing Jakub and his working with them?
12. His future, possible reconciliation?
13. A 21^st-century variation on a space Odyssey?

LEO

US, 2023, 102 minutes, Colour.

Voices of: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Alison Strong, Jo Koy, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler.

Directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim.

Leo is a benign lizard, who learns that a lizard’s lifespan lasts till 75 and his animal friends do a calculation that he is now 74. Leo and his turtle friend, Squirtle, are pets in the classroom in a primary school. As they chat to each other, voicing their observations on the new children at the beginning of the school year, we realise that they are quite astute judges of character, able to read the children very quickly, discern the qualities, comment on the burdens each child is carrying.

Actually, this is quite amusing, all in rather bright animation, quite an amount of singing, even in the opening credits, throughout the film, entertaining jingle kind of music with lyrics that comment on the characters.

And Leo is a funny-voiced Adam Sandler. Squirtle is voiced by Bill Burr.

Young children will be able to identify with the school group here, each child quite idiosyncratic – but about to discover something of their real selves with the aid of Leo. Leo is a benign do-gooder. The class teacher goes on maternity leave and a harridan arrives in her place, out with technology, in with huge books, discipline, demerits… And ruling that a child has to take one of the pets home for the weekend.

They choose Leo and are surprised to discover that he talks. And, he befriends them, challenges them, supports them, gives them a better vision of themselves – but they are to keep it all secret. A good part of the film shows Leo and his techniques, the effect on the children, their better selves.

There are some humorous situations, funny characters – and, of course, some mildly rude jokes. And there is a very active drone character!

There are quite some complications with the new teacher, Leo even having an encounter with her, remembering her when she was a girl at school. But, she has to be the villain of the piece and even with some happy self-discoveries, and the children succeeding in a competition and meriting a special outing, she decides to get rid of Leo, to fulfil his dream of visiting the Everglades, abandoning him there (and some funny sequences with fierce animals, friendly animals, and Leo a bit sophisticated for this kind of jungle life).

So, this is a happy film, happy film for children, a nicely challenging film for parents and teachers, and with the hope of a better world always possible.

Adam Sandler produced this film and his wife and two daughters voice some of the characters.

1. An entertaining animation film? For young audiences? Parents? Teachers?
2. The style of animation, the drawing of the characters, the situations, school, homes, the fair, the Everglades? Bright colours? The musical score, the insertion of all the songs, their easy tunes, the significant words?
3. Leo and Squirtle, school pets, their life, observing the children over the decades, astute in assessing characters, the conversations? Leo concerned about his age, contriving to meet all the animals and to work out how old he was – age limit of 75 and discovering he was 74? His earnestness in wanting to do something with his life? And friends in the Everglades – and their being over 100!
4. The range of children, the new class, the various types, the girl who talked incessantly, the girl with the pushy parents, the boy from the Bronx, the shy boy, the boy protected by the drone, the big bully boy…?
5. The pushy parents, the challenge to the new teacher, threats? The principal? The overprotective parents?
6. Classes, the pregnant teacher, morning sickness, leaving, the replacement teacher, old, large, severe, out with the social media, the huge times, vacuuming all the hearts and stars, the demerits?
7. Sending a pet home each weekend with the child? The reluctance, the talkative girl, at home, learning that Leo could speak, the conversations, talking about her problems, her continued talking? Each weekend, the range of children, everybody having a turn, Leo and his confiding, singing, encouraging? The effect on the children?
8. The goal of doing well in class, the reward of the trip, the children doing their best? The history pageant and the children being historical figures? Winning?
9. Leo, talking with Squirtle, long years together, the children taking Leo not Squirtlel? Leo’s disappearance, Squirtle or taking an initiative, revealing the truth, working with the drone, getting to the Everglades?
10. The lavish party, the spoilt girl, discovering her being ordinary, and the freeing of all the animals?
11. The child with the drone, the parents protective, the boy assertive against the drone, the drone’s behaviour? But Squirtle and the drone, working together, with the bus, the expedition, the rescue?
12. The teacher, talking with Leo, memories of the past, the substitute teacher, her own severity? Her ambitions? Flirting with the sports master on the bus? Harsh with children, her ambitions, putting Leo in her pocket, his not hearing the results, deceiving him, driving him to the Everglades?
13. The children at the fair, learning the truth, the Bronx boy driving the bus, into the Everglades, the confrontation with the alligators, finding the animals that the children had freed from the birthday party, thwarting the alligator by the girl talking him into submission!
14. The happy reuniting, the teacher employed by the principal for the next year – Leo and Squirtle in their tank, and the rowdy new children?
15. An entertainment with moral encouragement.