The Reel World

"The world is changing."

Maybe not as fast as you might think. It was the first days of summer 1976, and The Omen joined a crowded decade of satanical films that started with Rosemary's Baby in 1968 and following through The Exorcist in 1973, and by 1976 it was time for the ol’ Antichrist himself to be born in The Omen. All three of these became classic films. The Omen went on to have a couple of sequels that saw Damien, the Antichrist himself, grow up into Sam Neil and attempt to use his great political power to fulfil the Biblical prophesies of the End Days. It didn't work out so much for Damien, and Sam Neil ... well ... he went on to fight some dinosaurs in a little island park attraction called Jurassic Park. The franchise has been idle for decades, and when I heard it was going to be revised with a prequel called The First Omen? Let's just say my Spidey senses were tingling, and I was more worried about a cash grab that would really have very little to do with the first film and likely become a forgettable chapter in the whole business. I couldn't have been more wrong. The fact is that The First Omen is a pretty wonderful film on its own, but it doesn't stop there.

“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.

"Consider what you are about to do."

I first read Frank Herbert's initial Dune book back in the mid 1970's. I was introduced to one of the most complicated and extraordinary universes of literature I have still ever encountered. It's a masterpiece followed by several more books over the years that have more completely brought this world to life. The material's cinematic journey as been somewhat less captivating and quite a disappointment. The 1984 David Lynch film was a train wreck and quite possibly one of the greatest film failures in history. Since then a lot has changed. Today computer-generated images have progressed to the point that with enough money and artistic expertise a filmmaker can depict anything the mind can conceive. Images have become photorealistic, and the worlds of Herbert's Dune universe can finally be brought to the silver screen with almost no limitations. But is that enough?

“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.

It’s January of a new year, and what that means for studios is that they like to release the last of their award-friendly films before the Oscars, and then there are the cast-off films that the studios release with few to no expectations. I felt this was the perfect time for a studio to release something of quality, because there’s literally no competition at the box office, but that might be what Universal is trying to do with their new release Night Swim. For horror fans, this title is one to be cautiously excited over, because it is the beginning of a partnership between Jason Blum and James Wan. The pair have united to release several horror projects in the near future. Night Swim was initially picked up as a feature after the success of the short film with the same title was released back in 2014 from directors Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire. Now ten years later Bryce McGuire dives back in to create a feature length project about a haunted pool in the suburbs in an attempt to scare the floaties off its audience, but does he succeed?

“Four years ago, I was basically unemployed, a wanderer with no home. But now I'm a husband, and a father. And I wouldn't have it any other way.”

This film release marks the end of the DCEU as we know it (also known as the Snyder-verse). The DCEU has been an interesting ride to say the least, full of ups and downs. And while it never truly challenged Marvel with their multi-phased gameplan, it did provide unique opportunities that gave some deserving talents a platform to showcase their abilities. Momoa was one of them. For me, his casting was among the most unique and triumphant. When he was first announced, I had to take a hard look at that decision, as it went against the grain as far as traditional casting for Arthur Curry went. However, it is difficult for me to imagine anyone else who could have brought the same kind of life to the character. Momoa gave the character an exotic and wild-man energy that made for a very entertaining interpretation. Granted this at times made the character seem dimwitted, making his path to the throne seem all the more unlikely. On the other hand, the character was intended to struggle and chafe under the pressure of the crown, thus making Momoa’s performance believable.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Galeries Gourmet, my name is Willy Wonka! I've spent the past seven years travelling the world, perfecting my craft. You see I'm something of a magician, inventor, and chocolate maker. So quiet up and listen down. Nope. Scratch that, reverse it.”

I usually don't go in for musicals. It’s not usually my cup of tea. However, this one took me by surprise. I grew up watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and for me the character of Wonka has always been synonymous with Gene Wilder. But there is something to be said about the showmanship that Timothée Chalamet brought to the role in Wonka. As the titular character, I dare say that he gave Wilder a run for his money as far as showmanship and naïve charm. In this third adaptation based on the 1964 Roald Dahl book, we meet Willy Wonka as a young and naïve man with a pocket full of sovereigns (the film’s currency of choice, though I am unclear as to what one sovereign equates to) and a head full of dreams. Who better to display this charm and innocence than the up-and-coming actor responsible for some of the biggest films in recent years like The King, Dune Part 1, and the upcoming Dune Part 2. He’s also backed up with an excellent cast which includes Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, and Hugh Grant in a role of a character that goes hand-in-hand with the name Willy Wonka.

If you take a look at this films trailer, you can tell this was a film that is desperately trying to court the award-season crowd. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, when I saw that Rustin was directed by George C. Wolfe, who did the fantastic Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the film immediately went on my list as something to look out for. And for full transparency, I had no clue who Bayard Rustin was before I even saw the trailer, and while I feel the film does highlight an important figure in history, this may not be the best execution of the man’s story. This is a film about a man’s grand vision to pull off the impossible, and despite this being a landmark historical event, I feel the delivery missed the mark. While this is a biopic about Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), it is very much about  only a small portion of the man’s life, basically just the short amount of time he had to put together a march on Washington DC in 1963 that would live on in infamy for the civil rights movement and the famous “I have a dream” speech from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I feel this is a bit of a disservice to the man who responsible for so much

Every year around this time, it seems studios are attempting to release the next holiday classic, or at least a film that will be revisited by fans. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf, and Die Hard (yes, it is a Christmas movie) are just a few that are in heavy rotation in my household. For those looking for something a little more wholesome and family-friendly, you may be in luck with the release of Dashing Through The Snow, which will be debuting on Disney Plus just in time for the holidays. At first glance I wasn’t so sure about this film, but when I saw that the film was written by Scott Rosenberg, I couldn’t resist. Rosenberg is responsible for writing the screenplays for Beautiful Girls and High Fidelity; both movies are near and dear to my heart, and if you haven’t seen these films, I highly recommend checking them out.