The Reel World

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.

“Imagine a place where wishes come true. Where your heart's desire can become a reality. What if I told you that place is within reach? All you have to do is give your wish ... to me.”

Disney has been taking us around the world in its efforts to duplicate its achievements with a certain princess that had to let it all go. And while I respect what they are trying to attempt, I doubt they are going to find that kind of lightning-in-a-bottle success that they found with that movie with Wish. That is not to say that Wish was not a enjoyable experience; I just don’t feel that the story came together fully in the manner that would make it iconic. However, I fully appreciate Disney’s efforts with taking us across the globe to foreign lands. And while the lands and areas tend to be fictional, they are always clearly inspired by real-life areas with diverse cultures.

“Higher, Further, Faster.”

While The Marvels is more entertaining than Quantumania, it is far from the best sequel that the MCU has ever created, despite this film in a sense serving as a three-way sequel for three separate MCU characters. Picking up after the events of Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and directly after Ms. Marvel, The Marvels brings together Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, Teyonah Paris’ Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan into one movie to thwart an intergalactic threat. Fair warning: there are prerequisites for watching this movie in order to ensure that you can keep track with the continuity. Obviously, you will need to have seen the first film, which followed Carol Danvers, but if you have not also watched any of the miniseries featuring the backstories for the other characters, you will find yourself struggling to keep up. As I said, this film can be considered a three-way sequel rolled into one film. Encompassing all of this for three characters was a big task, that the film clearly struggles to accomplish at times, but for the most part, I would categorize this film as an enjoyable experience, albeit one that I don’t see myself ever feeling the need to repeat.

When watching Quiz Lady, the first thing that came to me was this strange wave of 90s nostalgia. It was like I was watching the early films of Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Farley, and Will Ferrell, only this time it had Awkwafina and Sandra Oh in the starring roles. This isn’t a slight against the film, but instead I found it a bit refreshing, despite being a familiar formula. While this time of year a lot of us are used to seeing films that are heavy on the drama and are fighting for awards contention, this is a film that is instead a fun comedy that definitely doesn’t take itself seriously. Anne (Awkwafina), is a boring young woman who is single and lives on her own, well, at least with the exception of her adorable pug, Linguini. The only thing that seems to bring any excitement (I’m being generous here) is that every evening at 7 o-clock she watches her favorite game show, “Can’t Stop The Quiz”

Well, it is officially that time of the year when studios start cranking out the films they hope will receive some awards attention. Netflix has a stable of strong contenders this year, and Nyad is the first to be released. This is a film that is mostly flying under the radar despite starring Annette Bening and Jodie Foster. I really didn’t expect much out of this film, and I think because there were no expectations, no real buzz behind this film, that I was surprised how caught up in the story I found myself. If you are a fan of underdog stories, this is definitely for you, but the true spotlight belongs to Foster and Bening, who are here to show us all that they not only still have what it takes to carry a film, but they also deliver some of their best performances in ages. In 1979, when Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) turned 30, she made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. That’s basically 110 miles of water she attempted to cross.  It was meant to be the feat that she would retire her long distance swimming career on, but unfortunately she never made it to Florida.

“Hey Abby, are they…”

“Ghosts?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course they’re ghosts, how else could get the bodies to move.”

So, I had no idea what I was walking into with this film. I guess I missed the boat on this franchise. I don’t know where I was, but prior to this film being added to my docket, I hadn’t heard that it was a film adaptation of a video game franchise of some repute. This was clarified for me when I pulled up in the movie theater parking a lot and saw someone donning a mask for one of the game’s prominent characters. After educating myself, I now know that Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF) is a video game series consisting of nine video games taking place in locations connected to a fictional family pizza restaurant franchise named "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza", after its mascot, the animatronic bear Freddy Fazbear.