The Reel World

“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”.
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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.)
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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.
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“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.
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Based on a true story, Burden shows how one town’s African-Americans fight back against racial prejudices brought on by the local Ku Klux Klan.  The film is well written by Andrew Heckler and has a fine cast that makes their characters believable.  Largely unknown, the historical incident was brought to light by New York Times writer Rick Bragg on November 17, 1996.  The heart-wrenching story shows how one town fought back to free itself from a racist act. Tom Griffin (Tom Wilkinson) and his ward Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund) decide to reopen the abandoned movie theater as a museum for the KKK in the center of their small town of Laurens, South Carolina in spring of 1996. It’s an act of pride for the hooded organization and yet an obvious planned affront to half the population of the county. But Griffin owns the property, and his long-time membership in the KKK has brought him to the racist decision. The local preacher Reverend Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) is up in arms over the audacity of Griffin’s venture and starts to gather his flock to protest the museum.
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Taking it to the net, Ben Affleck gives his all for the camera as a man who has hit bottom.  It’s a performance that brings out the serious side of a character, and not anything like his superhero turns in the barrel. But it’s what the doctor ordered, as its classic Affleck and a joy to watch.  If you want to see a comeback to cheer for, it’s Ben Affleck in The Way Back. Down in the dumps for initial reasons unknown except that his wife has left him in a trial separation, ex high school basketball great Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) needs something to lift him out of a death spiral induced by alcohol abuse. It comes with an offer from his old high school that had a coach who crapped out in the middle of a losing season.  Taking over the team after some pressure from the padre of the parochial school, he starts to wonder what he got himself into.  With the help of his assistant coach, Dan (Al Madrigal) and the padre on the bench, he tries to keep from cursing at the refs and drinking on the job. It’s those supporters and the desire to bounce back that are the catalyst that draws the man out of the mouse he had become.
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It wasn’t all that long ago that Universal was seriously attempting to develop a Dark Universe for their classic monsters. Things changed after the releases of Dracula Untold and The Mummy after their poor box office showings, but having seen those two films, I feel fans were spared in the long run from a disaster that could have been.  Then in 2019 word got out that Blumhouse was going to be doing The Invisible Man, and this somewhat reignited the talks of a Dark Universe project.  When I first heard Blumhouse was backing the film, I was cautiously optimistic about the project; where the company does have its hits like Happy Death Day and Get Out, there are plenty of duds as well.  It’s when Leigh Whannell got attached and I had some hope for the film.  For those unfamiliar with the name, Whannell is the writer responsible for the Saw franchise as well as the Insidious franchise.  Now the wait is over and the film has been seen; how does it turn out?
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Jack London’s 1903 novel The Call Of The Wild has become a great American classic that hasn’t been out of print ever in over 100 years. There have currently been over 1000 editions in every major language of the world. One of the aspects of its endurance is that it has such wild appeal. I read the book first when I was around 10 years old, and the imagery has remained throughout my entire life. I still consider it one of the best novels I have ever read. The novel also has great appeal among older readers because of the story’s engaging adventure elements, and, of course, the story is about a dog. London managed to bring the canine character alive with wonderfully visceral accounts of the dog, Buck’s life of adventure that includes both tragedy and triumph. The story has been to the screen both large and small several times to date including a classic 1935 film staring Hollywood legend Clark Gable. Every generation before and since (there was an earlier 1923 version) has witnessed at least one new version of the film. The most recent was a 2009 3D release that made it a kid film with Christopher Lloyd and Timothy Bottoms. Now The Call Of The Wild returns to the big screen as the first Disney release under the newly acquired Fox purchase to sport the entity’s new name, which drops the Fox name and is now merely 20^th Century Studios. It’s somewhat the perfect film to bridge the old Fox with Disney, as this is very much a family film.
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“When I saw the photo he took of me, I didn’t see myself. I saw someone who looked happier than me.”

This little romance, The Photograph, tugs at the heartstrings and should work well with a female audience. Lost love and missed opportunities set the tone for this storyline, and the complications resonate with today’s social values. The film plays out like a Saturday matinee, where a release on Lifetime would have been a better choice.  While the theater experience is the norm, the budget for the movie would have fared better had they chose a more apt venue.  The acting is very good, direction pinpoint, but the storyline is ordinary to timeworn. Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield), a writer for The Republic, is doing a story on Christina Eames (Chante Adams), a famous photographer who had recently died, for his column.  To get some background he interviews her daughter Mae (Issa Rae), who lives in New York City. Their romance gets steamy and genuine, but Mae is cautious so she won’t get hurt.
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“I’m the one they should be scared of! Not you, not Mr. J! Because I’m Harley Freaking Quinn!”

For too many years now, the DCU (DC Universe) of films has been guilty of an overwhelming sense of foreboding and darkness. Of course, Chris Nolan pretty much started the trend, while Zac Snyder completely embraced the idea. The Chris Nolan Dark Knight films were a great success, and they should have been. The darkness works wonderfully with a character like Batman. But then Snyder and his DC film gang allowed this brooding darkness to inhabit all of their characters in feature films and never quite appeared to understand why the sometimes camp of the Arrowverse (The TV DC Universe) is so much more appreciated by fans. Wonder Woman stands out as the lone exception to this trend, and that’s why it’s so much better than the others. Now it seems the folks at the DCU are attempting to showcase their ability to be more flexible and less cookie-cutter.
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Well, it didn’t take long for Robert Downey Jr. to line up his next project following his iconic Marvel run. And there is definite franchise potential with this film about quite possibly the most famous veterinarian ever written. Primarily inspired by Hugh Lofting’s The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, the film is likely anticipated to be a reboot to the Eddie Murphy-led film franchise of the same name (except with a “Dr.” in front of the name). Interestingly enough, the film’s inspiration is actually the second book written by Lofting about this famous character with the gift of talking to and understanding animals. Continuity aside, the film features a cast of verifiable talent including Michael Sheen and Antonio Banderas; rounding out the voice cast is Tom Holland (his second voicing acting role, proceed by Spies in Disguise with Will Smith, and to be followed by the upcoming Onward with Chris Pratt), Emma Watson, Rami Malek, Octavia Spencer, John Cena, Ralph Fiennes, Marion Cotillard, and the list goes on. Seriously, there are at least five more I could have named. With a cast like this, you can only expect an enjoyable experience, and that is exactly what you get with this family-friendly adventure delivers.
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For a while it was looking like 2019 was going to be a lackluster year for films. Once fall rolled around, we seemed to get bombarded with some quality award-worthy films, but aside from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nothing jumped out at me as Best Picture.  Sure, Joker was great, and I had a great time with Uncut Gems, but when 1917 rolled around, this was the film that left me in awe. Sure, there have been some great war films over the years. Platoon and Apocalypse Now are great Vietnam films; Saving Private Ryan is definitely a contender as the best film about WWII. Really, it would have been difficult to say what’s the best war film out there … well, that is, until now.  It’s a bold statement, and I know many will disagree with me, but after two screenings of 1917, I’m feeling pretty confident when I say this is the best and my favorite war film.  What’s even more impressive is how 1917 manages to stand out from the big blockbusters, sequels, and comic book films and stand alone as a film that can remind viewers about that magic that comes with seeing a movie on the big screen and in Dolby sound.
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It was 1978 when it all began. That’s when George Lucas and a fairly unknown band of filmmakers and actors introduced us to that galaxy far, far away. We met characters like Han Solo and Princess Leia. We fell in love with droids named R2D2 and C3PO. We booed and hissed at the classic villainy of Darth Vader. And the hero of it all was a young farmer boy who pined for adventure on a backwater planet where nothing exciting ever happened. That’s where we met Luke Skywalker, and for three films ending in 1983, we were treated to an epic adventure. This unknown band would become cultural icons, but it was all over after five years of space swashbuckling and good old good versus evil. At some point Lucas made it known that the first Star Wars film was actually the fourth film in a trilogy of trilogies. Star Wars would gain the tag A New Hope, followed by The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Of course, while Lucas teased there was a prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy, we were told not to get our hopes too high. But in the 1990’s Lucas felt ambitious, and he delivered on that prequel trilogy with underwhelming result. Surely the rest of the story would remain untold.
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This film proves that not all things need to be adapted for the silver screen. This re-imagining of this Broadway musical was best left on the stage. Now I am saying this having never seen the musical, but given the execution of this film, I am forced to make that the assumption that the musical has to be better than what I witnessed at the theater. Despite having a top-shelf cast that included Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, and Taylor Swift, the film fails to entertain. This isn’t just a biased opinion, either; my wife, who was very excited for the film, fell asleep at multiple points and was highly annoyed by the story. I have no idea what was initially hoped for this adaptation, but I am hard pressed to believe that it was this. As much as I want to put the film behind me, there is one song regarding a magician cat that is just staying with me, furthering my frustration. The film was already going to have a difficult time making its mark based on the fact that is going against a film that is basically guaranteed to win not only this week but also subsequent weekends at well. Given the cult status of the musical, I assume that the die-hards will make the trip to the theater, and I would be curious to speak with any of them and find out if they were as disappointed as I was.
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“There’s a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.”

Clint Eastwood is about to hit 90, and there are no signs that it’s slowing him down. Last year he even returned to the front of the camera for The Mule. Now he’s back as just the director, and it appears that Eastwood has found two of his favorite subjects in one film. He’s always been attracted to the isolated man. If you look back at the men he himself has portrayed over the years, they were misunderstood loners. In recent years he has taken a bit of a shine to telling true stories that usually deal with unlikely heroes who are thrust into a dangerous situation and must act. Heroes like Chris Kyle in American Sniper, airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, the WWII heroes who raised the iconic flag at Iwo Jima in Flags Of Our Fathers, and the brave ordinary tourist who stopped a terrorist attack on a passenger train in The 15:17 To Paris. These heroes always pay a price for their actions, and often they are even persecuted for what they’ve done, as in the case of Sully. Eastwood has combined that true story and unlikely hero for his latest work, Richard Jewell. It’s a cautionary tale that is worth watching, particularly in an age where we are constantly told that if we see something, we must say something. After watching Richard Jewell, you might just experience a potentially catastrophic hesitation. And who could blame you?
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“Welcome back to Jumanji!”

It would seem that welcoming the audience back to the jungle is in order. Now here is a sequel that when I heard it was being made, all I could do was shake my head. I just couldn’t fathom a reason for a sequel to be made. The film was already a continuation of the previous installment. I also couldn’t fathom a worthwhile story being told. And if it wasn’t for the hard work of Jack Black, who basically made the movie, I believe that my opinion would not have been changed otherwise. After barely escaping the game the first time, the group finds themselves drawn back into the world of Jumanji in order to save one of their own. However, the stakes are higher, as not only is the gang venturing into brand new territory; they are hampered due to being saddled with two new players in the form of franchise newcomers Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. The previews did not do the film justice, as it truly turned out to be far better than I was initially anticipating. It does get a bit long-winded, but for the most part it is a good, fun, and funny return to the established universe.
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Dark Waters is an alarming, based-on-true-events thriller that will have you more than little worried about your cookware. Mark Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, an attorney who is drawn into a conspiracy involving a chemical conglomerate that resulted in hundreds of unexplained deaths. Anne Hathaway is his wife, who has to endure her husband’s over-twenty-year obsession with bringing down this company, all while trying to hold their family together. As I said, this was truly illuminating movie based on the 2016 New York Times article, “The lawyer who became Dupont’s worst nightmare.” The idea that something like this could happen for so long without any real consequences makes this story worth telling. Robert Bilott is a corporate defense attorney and partner at his firm. He is married with a baby, and he seems to have his life and career trajectory well in hand. That is, until an acquaintance of his grandmother shows up at his office unannounced, demanding his help suing a chemical company for the deaths of his cows. Robert initially wants nothing to do with the situation and is unconvinced that there is even a case to be made until he travels Parkersburg, VA and sees the devastation firsthand. Soon he finds himself caught up in a long-running conspiracy with life-threatening consequences and the involvement of one of the worlds largest companies that has been making billions as a result.
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Who killed renowned novelist Harlan Thrombey? Was it the dutiful son? Was it the rebellious grandson? Was it the sweet caretaker? The answer to this question is actually far more complicated than I expected, as Knives Out delivers a very engaging and extremely entertaining murder mystery in time for the Thanksgiving weekend. This story is chock-full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the ending credits. This Rian Johnson-helmed film is worth a trip to the theater because of its excellent plot and all-star cast that includes Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, and many more. Harlan Thrombey is cleaning house on his birthday, looking to stop indulging his spoiled and entitled children and grandchildren. After years of catering to their every whim, he has decided that he will no longer bankroll their lifestyles. Well, that sounds like a motive for murder if I ever heard one, and that is just what happens when his body is discovered the day after his birthday. Initially suspected to be suicide, the knives come out when renowned private detective Beniot Blanc arrives and announces that he suspects foul play.
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“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?”

Anyone who was a kid from the 1960’s to the 1990’s and beyond recognizes Mr. Rogers and his neighbor song. The man defined children’s programming for television, and he did so from a small studio tucked away in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania for almost 40 years. There aren’t many people living in this country who don’t at least know who Fred Rogers was. It would be a complete waste of my space and your time to tell you very much about the man in these lines. Truthfully, you’ll make the kinds of discoveries into the nature of who he was by spending a short 90 minutes watching the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor that appeared last year. It will be time well spent no matter how little or much you think you know about him. But now hot on the heels of that incredible documentary comes a film staring Tom Hanks as the lovable neighbor we all used to wish we had. Recently Ancestry.com confirmed that Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers are related. Of course you have to go back the pre-revolutionary days of 1734 to find this elusive relative. But you won’t have to time travel to spend a magical time with Mr. Rogers and Tom Hanks. In 2019 they happen to be the same man.
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“We got twenty-one bridges in and out of Manhattan. Shut them down. Three rivers. Close them. Four tunnels. Block them. Stop every train and loop the subways. Then, we flood the island with blue.”

Chadwick Boseman looks to be trying to bring back the days of Dirty Harry in this film as a cop known to kill cop killers. 21 Bridges is an action-packed film where nothing is really what it seems. Also featuring Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, J.K. Simmons, and Keith David, I have to admit that some of these cast members’ appearances were more like cameos, as the action primarily focused on Boseman as he attempted to hunt down his target by any means necessary. Sorry, I just always wanted to say that, but for the context of this movie it rings true, as from the quote above you can see the extent he was willing to go to.
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It’s been six years since Frozen became somewhat of a surprise hit out of Walt Disney Studios in 2013. No one was surprised it made a good haul at the box office, but I suspect that even the masterminds at Disney never saw this billion dollar baby when it was first being born. It’s become the biggest original hit out of Disney since the original Lion King set animated feature records in the 90’s. I’ll give the studio credit. They didn’t rush out and try to cash in on the momentum as quickly as other studios would have. They took their time and assembled the same team of directors and songwriters and allowed the process to follow a six-year process with the intent of doing it right rather than doing it fast. For the most part I think that strategy paid off, and while this film will never be the classic the original has become, it will fit rather snugly into the franchise and will delight children while possibly cursing the adults who are fated to watch the film over and over again. This is absolutely one of those kinds of movies.
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“You are in the presence of angels.”

After recently reviewing Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, it only seems fitting that I am returning to you in order to give you the scoop about the most recent installment of the franchise. It is in fact an installment into the franchise, as it exists in the same universe as the television series, as well as the two films that starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. However, in this installment, the Townsend Agency has gone global with agents (called angels) operating in several international cities, each with their own Bosley (a title that serves as a rank in the organization). For the purposes of this film, we are focused on Sabina Wilson, played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Jane Kano, played by Ella Balinska (Midsomer Murders), and Elena Houghlin, played by Naomi Scott (live-action Aladdin). Rounding out the cast are Patrick Stewart, Djimon Hounsou, and Elizabeth Banks, who also serves as the film’s director.
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Director Roland Emmerich is no stranger to big-screen battles. The difference is that up until this year those battles have been against aliens, huge climactic changes, or giant lizards named Godzilla. There’s no question that he understands how to shoot epic confrontation. The question I had going in to Midway was, can he deliver a battle that wasn’t fiction? After nearly tow and a half hours, the answer came back somewhat mixed. This isn’t the first time that the Battle of Midway has been brought to the big screen. In the 1970’s Charlton Heston gave us a film that was more renowned for the trendy Sensurround gimmick than it was for the drama that unfolded on the screen. Sensurround was a fancy name for huge subs that would shake the theater, and if you were lucky enough to be seeing the film at a theater with enough money to go all the way, you might have found yourself in a seat that was wired to shake, rattle, and roll. Today the chains call that Dolby. This Midway didn’t lend itself to some William Castle hustle. It’s all up on the screen. The film bears no relation to that earlier effort except for the legendary battle in the Pacific that turned the tide of the Pacific theater of World War II toward the Allies. The film actually shares more in common with the classic Tora Tora Tora in that we spend a good deal of screen time with the Japanese players in the battle. Not at all like the earlier gimmick film, this movie is intended to place you squarely in the middle of the action. If that’s what you came to see, you are certainly in for an immersive experience only without the hot-wired seat.
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Taking a lot of liberties while giving a cinematic interpretation of a time in his life, Pedro Almodovar’s movie Pain & Glory is as expressive as Roma. His directing and screenwriting is by far some of the best I’ve seen by the famous director, and yes, there’s a spark of surprise in this one, as in every one of his films. Taking extra liberties, he even shocks his audience at one point. That said, if you are a fan of Almodovar’s films, then you will not want to miss the amazing performances that bring the man’s film to the big screen. The story follows Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a screenwriter and director who has had huge success with his film Sabor. He has not written another for some time, yet he’s still known by many for his work. Now living in semi-seclusion, we find him working on a new project while visiting the past in his mind. In flashback, we see his life at an early age (Asier Flores) and his inquisitiveness that led him to become a great director. His darker side includes taking a turn with drugs and a gay lover from the past.
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By John Delia, Jr.

During the 1950’s, being a private investigator wasn’t always a safe and sure way to make a living. But it was a popular way to make some cash for returning soldiers or ex-police officers. During these times things were beginning to modernize, and the world was becoming more dependent on advancement in the skyline. With these changes, corruption and deceit became more evident, and private investigators became more popular. When Frank Minna’s (Bruce Willis) agency gets a chance to make some real money, things begin to get ugly fast. In his crew there is Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), an orphan with Tourette’s syndrome that Frank took under his wing when Lionel was 13; they have been friends ever since. Then there is Tony Vermonte (Bobby Cannavale), Gilbert Coney (Ethan Suplee), and Danny Fantl (Dallas Roberts). Frank has known these guys for many years and trusts them with helping to investigate the cases for his company.
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