Day: June 10, 2021

It would appear that Antoine Fuqua‘s Infinite (6.10) stinks. Certainly to go by David Rooney‘s Hollywood Reporter review.

Opening line: “It’s an intriguing idea in theory to hitch the reincarnation beliefs of Eastern religions to a futuristic scenario of gifted souls with perfect recall of their past lives, split into good and evil factions at war over humanity’s survival”…okay, stop right there.

Any scenario that insists on clear-cut delineations between good and evil is horseshit from the get-go. For the most part there are few absolute moral black or white extremes in any realm — except for the pure rancid evil of Donald Trump and the fact-denying wackazoids who would trash American Democracy for an authoritarian whitebread dictatorship defined by decades-old cultural values. Almost everything on the face of the planet is defined by varying shades of gray.

Rooney: “But Infinite is a soulless grind. Juiced up with a succession of CG-enhanced accelerated chases and fight action interspersed with numbing bursts of high-concept geek speak, Antoine Fuqua’s sci-fi thriller isn’t helped by a lead performance from Mark Wahlberg at his most inexpressive.

“His character is basically a charisma void with a permanently furrowed brow suggesting brain strain. It’s no surprise Paramount shunted this thrice-delayed theatrical release to its streaming platform.”

This two-day-old Lorraine interview with Anthony Hopkins took me back to the whole soul-draining, otherworldly disappointment of the Steven Soderbergh Oscars — easily the most bizarre, tilt-level Academy Awards telecast in human history.

Not to mention that awful, mind-warping post-Oscar assessment video by Variety wokesters Elizabeth Wagmeister, Clayton Davis, Angelique Jackson and Jenelle Riley.

The best response was posted by HE’s “Deydou“:

“Wagmeister, Davis, Jackson, Riley… you could add many more of these so-called columnists, entertainment journalists and Oscar bloggers who know nothing about movies or care about performances. They’re only interested in writing about what descent is this or that actor, and pushing for awards because of this or that origin.

“Who will remember these ignoramuses who ridicule themselves to please those Twitter hyenas that don’t represent anyone in real life? They should be ashamed of themselves. As should be every hypocrite who did their ‘who will win and who should win?’ before the Oscar and always put Boseman’s name in the ‘should win’.

“Chadwick Boseman wasn’t robbed nor snubbed and Hopkins’s win wasn’t shocking at all. Boseman gave one of the best performances of the year in a so-so movie. Hopkins is one of the GOAT giving one of the best performances of all time in an excellent movie that most people loved.

“There was no competition. Hopkins doesn’t even play in the same league than the other four. The Best Actor Oscar is not supposed to be a consolation prize or a race prize. Hopkins has no responsibility in Boseman’s shocking death. He doesn’t have to apologize for being a old white male. Boseman‘s Ma Rainey performance was great but he was not as good as Hopkins, nor was he overdue.

“R.I.P. Chadwick. As a great artist and and great man, I’m sure from where you are, you know Hopkins deserved it.”