Posts by Jeremy Butler

“Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind.”

So, the thing I’ve noticed works best for these live action adaptation of Disney movies is continuity, which is something that Lilo and Stitch adheres to very well. I suppose that it wasn’t hard to do when the live action is written and directed by Chris Sanders, the person responsible for the writing and directing of the original beloved animated movie on which this adaptation is based. I should also mention that Sanders voiced the Stitch character himself, something he repeats for this film. So, as I said, continuity is key for this movie. It helps to have the right person at the wheel, and I can’t imagine a better person to be at the wheel than the person ultimately responsible for Lilo and Stitch’s initial creation.

“If a grudge is self-inflicted poison, then the person who invited you to this wedding is the most poisoned person that I have ever met. She doesn’t let go, and you are the biggest grudge of her life.”

I was a skeptic about this film. I didn’t think lightning could strike twice. A Simple Favor was a unique black comedy mystery film, and I expected that any follow-ups would fall victim to the law of diminishing returns. As it turns out, despite being seven years removed from these characters, for Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, it is as if no time has passed. Both Kendrick and Lively easily slipped back into their roles as well as their chemistry, which was vital to the success of the first film. I should have known that the film would be something special, given that it is the first sequel of director Paul Feig’s 22-film directorial career. Unlike the first film, Another Simple Favor is not based on a novel but an original story, which makes sense given where the first film left off. Returning alongside Kendrick and Lively is much of the cast from the first film, to include Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells.

Having never played the game and having no frame of reference for this adaptation, I had to rely heavily on reinforcements to let me know if the movie was true to the game. According to my nephew, there were some deviations, such as the final boss, but for the most part, he said the movie was true to the game. From my perspective, A Minecraft Movie was an entertaining movie that doesn’t take itself seriously at all, which is to be expected with Jack Black cast as Steve, the only original character from the game. Black delivers in the fashion that he is famous for, a bit of overacting and breaking out into song in the oddest moments. Adding to the silliness is Jason Momoa, who fully embraced his goofy side that we usually only get to see when he is doing interviews. Jack Black and Jason Momoa being given free rein to crack jokes and overact; what more can you ask for? Along for the ride are Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), Sebastian Hansen in his second film role, and Emmer Meyer of Wednesday and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which explains why I’m still waiting on season two of Wednesday.

Fan of lava chicken? Well, don’t worry, you will see it, which was actually my nephew’s favorite part. Personally, I favored the bromance between Black’s Steve and Momoa’s Garret “The Garbage Man” Garrison. As I mentioned, I don’t usually see Momoa going the comedic route, so when he does, I find myself really enjoying it. Specifically, what I really enjoyed was the role reversal for Black and Momoa, where Black was the brave and selfless hero, while Momoa, despite all his muscle, finds himself having to be rescued rather than the rescuing. However, their dynamic did pull focus from the rest of the cast. At first blush, one would assume that the main focus of the plot would be on Hansen’s Henry and his relationship with his older sister/guardian Meyer’s Natalie. As Henry is misunderstood in his world, it would make sense that he would find comfort in a world where anything is possible. I expected that Black and Momoa would act in mentor-like roles and take a back seat to the dynamic between Hanson and Meyer. However, it turned out to be the other way around. While Black and Momoa both do somewhat mentor Henry, there isn’t a lot of attention dedicated to the relationship between brother and sister. In fact, they spend a great deal of the film apart. While I would have liked to have seen more time dedicated to the brother and sister dynamic, I can’t say that I hated the Black-Momoa bromance, especially when the two rocked out.

“When you can lie about everything, when you can deny everything, how do you tell the truth about anything?”

That is essentially the theme of Black Bag. When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband -- also a legendary agent -- faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage or his country. With a plot like that, you are most definitely going to need some top-shelf actors to convey the nuance and tension of a married couple that can’t fully trust one another. Enter Cate Blanchett and Miachel Fassbender on the heels of his espionage series The Agency. Toss in Steven Soderbergh as the director, and you get yourself a party. Or at least you should; however, the pacing has to be just right. Naturally, a suspense movie such as this needs to build suspense. However, if I’m being perfectly honest, this slow burn burned just a little too long. Outside that little detail, the film hit all its marks. The film was aided in this endeavor by a cast of consummate professionals such as Pierce Brosnan, Rege-Jean Page, Naomi Harris, Tom Burke, and Marisa Abela of Industry fame.

“Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?”

“My queen, your beauty is beyond compare, but there is one -- her beauty grows -- from deep within ... Snow White. She is as pure as snow.”

I’ve never been much for Will Ferrell. His brand of comedy never really resonated with me. I always just found it too ridiculous and outlandish.  I suppose You’re Cordially Invited will be the exception to that rule. While the film does play right into Ferrell’s wheelhouse with the over-the-top antics such as wrestling an alligator, it is actually the dynamic, should I say the rivalry, between Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon that is the highlight of the movie. The film is similar to Bride Wars and the Neighbors, which makes a measure of sense as the director of the latter film is actually the director of this film as well. Further aiding the film’s success is that, like Ferrell and Witherspoon, a majority of the cast all have established comedy backgrounds. Joining Ferrell and Witherspoon was Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers) as Ferrell daughter and one of the brides-to-be, Meredith Hagner (Vacation Friends) as Witherspoon’s sister and the other bride-to-be, Stony Blyden (Hunter Street) as one of the grooms-to-be, and Jimmy Tatro (Home Economics) as the other groom-to-be.

Not sure if this has ever happened to me before: to like the movie adaptation as much as I like the book itself. Naturally much of this feeling is due to the inclusion of Peter Dinklage into the cast of this film, but that said, I found The Thicket to be among my favorite movie adaptations of this year, which is interesting given the amount of creative license taken with the material. Based on the Joe R. Lansdale western novel of the same name,the film follows Jack Parker, a boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones, who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl. Joining Dinklage is Juliette Lewis as Cut Throat Bill, Hanna’s Esmé Creed-Miles as Lula Parker, Jack's sister, and The Old Man’s Gbenga Akinnagbe as Eustace Howard, an ex-slave who assists Jack.

I should preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of Joe R. Landsdale and an avid reader of his novels, especially his long-running Hap and Leonard series, which I’ve read at least a dozen times. I say that to say that Lansdale falls into the same category as Elmore Leonard for me; if they are making an adaptation of his work, better believe I will be among the first to watch it. The Thicket is no exception; as soon as I learned about it, I anxiously awaited its release. And now having seen it, I can say I was not disappointed. As I previously mentioned, a lot of my admiration for the film comes from Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Reginal Johnson, more aptly known as Shorty, a dwarf bounty hunter. Much like his character in Game of Thrones, Dinklage’s character is among the smartest in the room. However, unlike in Game of Thrones, this character is not afraid to get his hands dirty, which is shown from the character’s first scene when he is forced to teach an indignant and entitled city official a lesson when dares to take issue with his size. This film was reportedly a longtime passion project for Dinklage, and it shows in his portrayal as the character of Shorty who, at least for me, practically leapt off the page and became fully formed.

“Killing is bad. Like, unacceptably bad.”

I had such high hopes for this romantic comedy. I didn’t expect that it would raise the level of the genre, but I figured that it would be some lighthearted fun like in The Ugly Truth or Sex Tape. The unfortunate part is that I feel like it had that potential; it just required better story development. A shame; this really could have been a win for Kaley Cuoco. Not that she needs one; of the big three of The Big Bang Theory, I’d say she’s the one with the fullest dance card. It’s like she hasn’t taken a breath since the series ended. But then again one could argue that she’s always been on the go since her days on 8 Simple Rules. Even so, I really wanted to like this film, and while it had a couple of good moments, the lackluster story development really diminished any traction that the film gained.

“This is a game about winning the points that matter. You beating me is a nice story for you to tell people when you're giving them tennis lessons, but I guarantee you the thing they'll all be the most excited about is that you met me at all. They'll ask you what I'm like. They'll ask you if I'm nice. They'll ask you if we were friends. And then they'll ask you how I did it. They'll ask you and you won’t have no $#*%ing clue what to tell them. And even if you did want to know, I couldn't possibly explain it to you in a language you'll understand, because the thing you learn when you've been operating at my level for as long as I have is that it's so $#*%ing lonely to win this much. Nobody gets it. But everyone on Earth gets what it's like to be you.”

So the truth about this film when I learned about it was I knew it was destined to be a movie that my wife would drag me to the theater to see. I’ve never been one for tennis, and while I have a rudimentary understanding of the game’s rules and how it is played, it falls into the same category as golf; it’s just not that exciting a sport for me. That said, I’m pretty sure that I ended up more hooked by this movie than my wife. Zendaya as a maneater?  I mean, who wouldn’t be seduced by the idea of her taking on a role like that? I’ve watched Zendaya since her time on the Disney Channel, and I never cease to be amazed by the transformation that she undertakes with every role. This is a woman who not only redefined the role of MJ in the Spider-Man films, but did that while also more than convincingly passing as a drug addict on Euphoria. Quite frankly, I highly doubt there is anything that she couldn’t convincingly do.