Posts by Jeremy Butler

“In their time, humans were capable of many great things. They could fly, like eagles fly. They could speak across oceans. But now, it is our time ... and it is my kingdom. We will learn. Apes will learn. I will learn. And I ... will conquer.”

Just as you think that the Planet of the Apes franchise has run out of story to tell, especially following the death of the protagonist in the preceding film, they find a way to bring the story full circle with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the first of a new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films. In the Andy Serkis-led Caesar, we observed apes’ ascendency to becoming the dominant species on the planet. However, with this new franchise, we will get to see if absolute power truly does corrupt absolutely. I have to take my hat off to this franchise, not only for its ten installments, but for its successful execution of long-term storytelling. When the series rebooted back in 2011, I assumed that we were just getting the origin story for the films that came before. Following that logic, I presumed that following apes ascending to the top of the food chain would be the end of the journey.

“What can I say? I like playing with my food.”

I have to say, I was expecting more blood. When the cast speaks out and calls the film “the bloodiest thing they’ve ever worked on in terms of volume,” or “the most traumatic experiences,” and the director describes it as “just a bloodbath,” I guess I was just expecting it be pouring down from the walls. However, that was not really the case. In truth, I barely noticed a difference between this and your typical horror film. Granted, other horror films have less exploding vampires, which I assume was the reason for the film earning its gory reputation. I suppose that is to the film’s credit, the ability to use close to 30,000 liters of fake blood, yet I was no more disturbed than watching any other traditional vampire films. Aside from that surprise, I have no complaints about Abigail, a reimagining of the Universal horror classic, Dracula’s Daughter, starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. For Angus Cloud, this serves as his final role due to his passing in July 2023.

“I've never been so scared in my entire life. And I've never felt more alive.”

Civil War paints quite the picture and is likely to leave a lasting impression. I know it did with me. Despite awareness of the film’s premise, I didn’t know what to expect from the film written and directed by Alex Garland, the filmmaker responsible for films like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and Ex Machina. I suppose given his storied career in the dystopian film genre, I expected that this film would follow suit. However, while the film does fit comfortably in that genre, it also had the makings of a cautionary tale. The film, which follows a team of journalists who travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating second American civil war which has engulfed the entire nation was an intense and engaging experience that is not easily forgotten. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny serve as our journalist team, and each and every one of them shine as they embark on this rollercoaster journey that leaves it mark on each character.

“You like John Wick? I have the same gun from the movie!”

I choose the aforementioned quote because it is impossible not to draw parallels between Monkey Man and John Wick. Both are action-packed movies featuring a protagonist out for revenge. Additionally, both protagonists spend time on dishing it out, but also having to take a good deal of abuse while carrying out their bloody campaign. However, in Monkey Man I’d have to say the bloodshed is more of a prominent fixture. It works for it, though. Gives it a visceral edge. Making his directorial debut, Dev Patel showcases himself as a jack of all trades, as he not only directs but also stars in and co-writes the film. I never thought of Patel as an action star. To me, he’s the guy exploding on the scene with shows like Skins and movies like Slumdog Millionaire before establishing a stable career in the industry, usually in the drama genre. But after viewing the film I see his commitment to the authenticity and choreography.

“I have a ghost to bust.”

When Afterlife was initially announced back in 2021, my thoughts were: why do we keep messing with things instead of preserving them? Ghostbusters was an iconic film franchise that already suffered one failed attempt at reboot. So when I went to see Afterlife, I was expecting the law of diminishing returns to be in effect. However, to my mind, Afterlife, with its homage to the dearly departed Harold Ramis and inclusion of the original crew, was not a reboot, but a continuation. It worked, and brought with it some of the nostalgia from the franchise’s original run. Now as expected, one good turn deserves another, and we now have Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Once again, we were at risk of destroying a good thing, but thankfully we had the right people at the helm who were able to blend the old with the new, which is no surprise given that the film was co-written by the son of the franchise’s original director.

“The greater the spy. The bigger the lie.”

I had some reservations about the plot of this story when it was first announced. A reclusive author who writes espionage novels about a secret agent, and a global spy syndicate realizes the plot of the new book she's writing starts to mirror real-world events, in real time. That was a bit much for even someone with my imagination to digest easily. However, I remained excited. How could I not be? We are talking Matthew Vaughn’s panache, which took Kingsman to great heights. Then there’s Sam Rockwell’s compulsive dancing; I’m honestly starting to believe that he has that his character has to dance written into all his contracts. It’s sort of like Samuel L Jackson and his favorite expletive, which shockingly didn’t happen in this film. Not to mention that this film’s cast’s chock full of Hollywood heavy hitters that include the already mentioned Rockwell and Jackson, as well as Henry Cavill, John Cena, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Bryan Cranston.