The Reel World

"Before I was an Avenger, I made mistakes ... and a lot of enemies."

To say that Scarlett Johansson's solo Black Widow film is overdue is one of the understatements of the decade. Fans of the MCU have been calling for the character to have a film of her own; all the while characters like Captain America, Iron Man and Thor ended up well into their third films with the character playing key roles in the threads that pulled all of these films and characters together. Marvel often assured us it would eventually happen, but it sure appears to have taken too long. It didn't help that the character dies in the final Avengers film, and it seemed less likely she would or even could get her own film by then. But Marvel kept assuring us that it was going to come. So we waited again for the character's life-after-death coming-out party. Of course, being dead isn't quite the damper it used to be, particularly in these superhero films. And with the MCU about to enter into the long-running comic staple of the multiverse (which is also true of the DCU) there is a good chance that, as they say in the comics, she might "get better". But when this film finally did appear to come together, the world was forced to wait through several date changes and another year of anticipation because of the unexpected arrival of COVID-19 on the real world scene. So we waited for another year, all the while praying the film would not fall to the ever-increasing trend of finally just releasing long-delayed theatrical films on streaming services and skipping the lines at the box office. The only real letdown is that after seeing the film,v it will feel like it was delayed far too long.

The year 2020 and nearly half of 2021 make up a time in our lives we'd all like to try to forget. And while the remnants of a pandemic that is not quite over still intrude on our realities, many aspects of our lives are starting to return. We're spending time with our family and friends again. Those simple parts of our lives we once took for granted are starting to return, and I suspect we're all apt to savor them just a little bit more from now on. The movies have been back for a little while now. We've finally started getting access to press screenings for the first time in over a year. Needless to say, so many of us are happy to be back in the theaters. So far we've had some films start to breathe life back into the box office, but today expectations remain lower, and they will for a while. We've had some successful films, and you can feel it in the air. Somewhere, somehow, there's got to be a film just itching to break open the floodgates and give us our first real break-out blockbuster in 18 months. Fasten your seatbelts, because I think the day has finally arrived, and while it isn't going to be anything like it might have been two years ago, I think that F9: The Fast Saga is going to be the first hit film since the arrival of the pandemic.

Dominic (Diesel) is learning to live the quiet life with Letty (Rodriguez) and her newfound memories and Dom's little girl. The gang has been through a lot, and it seems like it's time to kick back. Of course, that would be one boring film, and for a franchise built on 100% adrenaline, that's not really going to work out for us. Dom gets a visit from an old friend from the feds to tell him that Mr. Nobody (Russell) is in trouble. He was on a plan transporting old villainess Cipher (Theron) and a dangerous weapon when his plane ran into trouble and crashed. He needs help. With this new weapon in the wrong hands, the world needs help, and Dom and Letty need to get the old band back together for another crazy globetrotting mission. Returning is Roman (Gibson), Mia (Brewster), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Emmanuel). They find the plane and almost recover the goods when they discover who is leading the bad guys. It's a cat named Jacob, played by John Cena, who it turns out is Dom's brother. Yeah, the one he never ever mentioned through seven movies while talking so much about family. This one might be hard to swallow, so we get treated to a rather rich back story about Dom's family. We get to see him in his younger days helping his father who was a professional racer, and we see the event that caused the brothers to go their separate ways, and it’s strong enough that we get why Dom hasn't ever told anyone. It's one of the more interesting story elements of the franchise and is told through flashbacks throughout the film.

“Boring is still always best.”

To preface this review, I feel I should tell you just how big a fan I am of the original film (The Hitman’s Bodyguard). It’s a movie that I have watched more times than I can count. There is something about that film for me that just works. Maybe it is the chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, the way that they perfectly play off one another. Perhaps it’s that there is an air of philosophy to it, where they both argue that their occupation is just and the manner in which they argue it is so passionate that you can see both sides of the argument. Maybe it’s just the fact that it was chock full of action. Either way, suffice to say this movie holds a special charm for me. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the sequel, which in my opinion was an unnecessary cash grab. This is evident by the film’s presentation, because while the themes that made the first film great are all there, the execution is choppy and rushed, destroying what could have been a really great sequel.

Every decade or so sees the popularity of a Broadway stage show become something of a cultural phenomenon. When I was young, Cats and Annie were the big-event shows. Over the years it's been Andrew Lloyd Webbers Phantom Of The Opera and more recently Rent. In these last few years the stage champ has been Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. To say that it has been one of the more popular shows in the last few years would be an understatement. Based very loosely on the historical life of Alexander Hamilton, it is still currently the hardest ticket to get in New York City. Lost in the excitement and fame over Hamilton is that Miranda has had another rather large success with In The Heights. The play was selected best musical in 2003. While it never did come close to the success of Hamilton, it was also once a hard ticket to obtain. Just one year after Hamilton made it to the big screen, In The Heights will get its chance to offer moviegoers something to help bring them back to the cinemas.

As the film begins, we are introduced to Usnavi (Ramos) (there's a rather amusing story about how he got the unusual name), who has gathered a few children together to tell them a story. We are introduced to the idea of suenito, or a little dream. And that's the theme that will carry you through Usnavi's tale. It all takes place in a little corner of New York City called Washington Heights. We're encouraged to say it out loud so that it won't disappear. And that's where it all happens. We are introduced to a few of the citizens of this cultural neighborhood who each have their own little dream. Usnavi runs a neighborhood bodega, but his little dream is to return to his native Dominican Republic, where he dreams of rebuilding his father's destroyed bar and living in his own corner of paradise. He's not the only one with a dream. He's trying to connect with Vanessa (Barrera), who works for a local hair salon that is about to be yet another business leaving the neighborhood. She finds she can't find a place where she's going to be accepted in that new neighborhood, and her little dream is to have a fashion boutique where she can design and sell clothes.

What James Wan did with  The Conjuring (2013) was something I don’t think anyone expected. He not just delivered a haunted house film that’s genuinely scary as well as being a technical achievement, but also he kicked off a successful franchise that’s now seven films deep with no signs of stopping. I’ll admit when it comes to the stories about Ed and Lorraine Warren, I have a bit of a bias. I’m a sucker for just about any and every paranormal show out there, and I’ve read numerous books about the Warrens and their case files.  Everything from the “true” story behind the Amityville house, the “real” Annabelle, to some of the not-so-famous cases (at least the ones we haven’t seen a movie about). Whether you believe in the paranormal or feel the Warrens were nothing more than skilled hoaxers, the stories behind their cases are the stuff that will always make for a great campfire story, and as it’s been proven, some successful and entertaining films. So when it was announced that the next film was going to be about case where a man being put on trial and using the defense of possession, claiming the devil made him commit the crime, I was excited. Seeing how this was a real murder case that the Warrens were involved with, I was hoping we’d see a break from the traditional possession and haunted house film and delve into a courtroom drama. Alas, that isn’t the case. While the new film does take a somewhat different approach, I definitely have some mixed feelings on this one.

My biggest concern from the get-go about this film was that James Wan was not involved with directing the film. Granted he may have only done The Conjuring and its sequel, but I feel we can all agree those films outshine the other entries in the franchise by a great deal. Wan is simply one of the best directors working in film period. Though he may only stick to genre films, his work with crafting stories and his work with a camera is well above many of his contemporaries in the genre. Then to decide to have Michael Chaves, the director of The Curse of la Llorona helm the film was immediately cause for concern for me. To be blunt, I hated that film, and it was one of the worst films I saw that year.  The saving grace was that at least Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga would be reprising their roles of Ed and Lorraine.

“All I know is that girl came into your life for a reason.”

A love story that transcends time and space. Now, granted, this is not a brand new occurrence; we’ve seen several examples of characters falling in love despite not being from the same time. I mean, there’s The Time Traveler’s Wife with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams (which is currently slated to become an HBO series featuring Theo James and Rose Leslie), Kate and Leopold with Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan, and who could forget About Time with Domhnall Gleeson and again Rachel McAdams. However, I dare say that Long Weekend may have just revitalized the idea. It certainly managed to hold my interest despite a twist that took this film out of the realm of the traditional romance and infused it with a little bit of science fiction. Initially when the science fiction was introduced, I couldn’t help my eye roll, especially given that it was spoken aloud, it was literally the last thing that I expected to hear. On the surface, it was utterly ridiculous, but on the other hand, it had shock value, and what more can you ask for?

"The thing is, I was born brilliant, born bad, and a little bit mad. I'm Cruella." 

Growing up just about every kid I knew saw 101 Dalmatians in one form or another. It was released the year I was born, so I didn't get to see it originally on the big screen. Still it was a part of those magical Disney features that found a way to reach you and eventually into your heart. While the film's stars were the dogs, of course every good story needs a good villain. The villain in 101 Dalmatians was the white/black split-haired Cruella de Vil. With the help of an iconic Sherman Brothers' song children would be able to tell you about it in verse. You're left with the idea that "if she doesn't scare you no evil thing will". There was a sequel that wasn't so good, and that horrible live-action version back in 1996. After that dismal failure it appeared we were done with the dogs and the fashion designer who wanted to make a coat out of the adorable puppies. We were but lately Disney has been in the thrall of two trends. They are remaking all of their animated classics into live-action, or at least CGI-action films. They have also traveled down a path to redeem the lady villains of their films. There have been mixed results with an awful version of The Lion King and an amazing version of The Jungle Book. Maleficent set the bar high for the telling of these bad girls’ origin stories, and it's going to be hard for Cruella to match up. Did it even come close? I'm glad that you asked.

If it feels like you’ve been waiting a while for this film, well, you wouldn’t be wrong. Originally the plan was to release the film March 20, 2020 but this would be one of the first of many films that would be shelved due to the pandemic. There was talk about possibly releasing the film on one of the numerous streaming services out there, but thankfully it was decided to hold out till the lockdowns would end and movie theaters would open up wide across the US. It’s been a long wait for this highly anticipated sequel. Was it worth it?  I didn’t review the first film, but while I wasn’t exactly blown away by the film the first time around, as I’ve revisited the film I have to admit the film has grown on me, and I’d say it was my second favorite horror film released in 2018 (Sorry, Hereditary continues to knock my socks off to this day.) What sort of concerned me going into this sequel is how much this would work without Lee (John Krasinski).  Thankfully the film has Krasinski returning to work behind the camera as director again as well as aiding in the writing of the film, but most importantly, they found a way to bring his character back for the sequel. Was the film worth the wait, or should they have left this as a one-off success?

The film opens up to Day 1 of the invasion. Audiences finally get to see how everything went down when the aliens first arrive. Here we get to see the Abbott family as a happy and whole family. A good portion of this revolves around Lee and how the family manages to survive the first wave of the attack. I absolutely enjoyed this part of the film, though if you’ve seen the Steven Spielberg take on War of the Worlds, well, it will seem a bit familiar, but this definitely helps set the tone for this film. With a bigger budget we get a bigger production design as well as more aliens and more on-screen kills. One of the best aspects of the Day 1 sequence is it definitely calls back to the first film, when the family is raiding the shop for supplies. Keep your eyes peeled for several props that find their way on screen.

Just when you thought the Saw franchise had finally claimed its final victim in Jigsaw, Lionsgate has decided to keep the gruesome franchise going with Spiral.  I know it seemed like the character of Jigsaw had finally been milked (or bled) for all its worth, what more can they do with this franchise?  Honestly when I first heard about this film I groaned, I love horror and I love gore but even I was feeling the franchise had gotten a bit stale.  As it turns out there does seem to be more story to be juiced from this franchise and I’ll say it right now, this film was the game changer the franchise needed and it helps pave the way for plenty of pain, revenge and justice down the road.  This is a film that was long overdue to the franchise and I’ll go so far as to say it’s perhaps my favorite film of the series since the release of the first film.

Even if you’ve never seen a Saw film before, Spiral works well as a standalone film.  It’s not as though the previous films were serious think pieces, but of course if you’ve seen the previous films it will only add more to the experience.  That being said, Spiral does take a different approach and plays out more like a police procedural film, if you’ve ever seen the 1995 film Seven you’ll most likely catch many of the films homage’s to David Fincher’s classic.  Seeing the film play out more so as a crime thriller definitely opens the scope of the film but to a degree I feel it steps up the films pedigree, no longer being a relatively small scale “torture porn” but now it’s as though the franchise has matured wanting to give the audience more than just some gore on the wall.  Then there is the casting of Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, two names I’m pretty sure no one would have expected to see in this franchise, but most surprising is just how good Chris Rock is in this film.  It’s been a while since Chris Rock has been a name that one would call a box office draw but this is the role that is going to change that (especially when you factor in his performance in Fargo last year.  We get to see a lot of range from Rock in this role and it makes sense why he made himself Executive Producer on the film.

“Creeks lead to rivers. Rivers lead to towns.”

With a little more character development, Those Who Wish Me Dead would have been a really intriguing story. The film had a winning recipe: A script written by the man who gave us Hell Or High Water/Sicario (Taylor Sheridan), a cast that include talent like Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, and Aidan Gillen, as well as a rifle-toting pregnant woman on horseback. What more could you ask for? If only adequate time had been spent flushing the characters out and answering some of the question that were posed during the film’s runtime. As it stands, the film never gets past the initial intrigue phase because despite all the things the film did have, it’s what the film was missing that defines it.