The Reel World

"Does announcing your identity help with the covert part of the job?" 

Let me begin by saying that actress Brie Larson doesn't want me to write this review. It's not that I didn't like the film and intend to cut it down. Actually I rather liked the movie, and while it isn't going to crack my top five Marvel films, it's a very entertaining film that adds wonderfully to this always evolving world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or as we fan geeks like to refer to it, the MCU. So she wouldn't take much if any umbrage with my evaluation of the film. It turns out that I happen to be a white male, and she has made it known that she doesn't want to see reviews for this film written by white males. Sorry, Brie. I suggest you skip this one.

"I'm the master of the slow fade."

That would be a good way to describe director Neil Jordan and his latest Hitchcockian thriller, Greta. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Ray Wright, but let's be perfectly honest here. The film doesn't score on the writing. It's a completely predictable thriller, and there's nothing truly innovative or clever about the story. There's nothing here that we haven't seen before. This isn't a clever film by any stretch of the imagination. It's the execution of a tried story that makes this film as compelling as it actually becomes. And all of that comes from some rather unique cinematography and two quite powerful performances by the leading ladies in the star roles. Put that together and this ordinary film at least touches on something close to extraordinary.

It is surreal to know less about a subject than your six-year-old daughter, but that was the case going into How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World. Aside from a knowledge of this franchise’s existence, I knew next to nothing about the films as a whole. My daughter, Nalyce, on the other hand turned out to be a subject matter expert about the series, as well as he television series, apparently. It was quite the role reversal having her explain to me significance of Hiccup and his dragon Toothless. Also, it gave us something to bond over, which was further expanded upon thanks to the opportunity to take her with me to this screening. For me, I found the film to be a wholesome family experience and a satisfactory conclusion to a well-liked franchise, though I’m sure there remains the opportunity for expansion of the film’s universe. Nalyce was mesmerized by the Hidden World and the different species of dragons. All in all, this is a treat for the whole family.

If you look at the box office rankings for last week, you will undoubtably see Alita: Battle Angel occupying the number one slot, and with good reason. I know what you are thinking: last week is being heralded as one of the worst box office performances for a Presidents’ Day weekend, but that does not damper my opinion of the film. Though it took a second for me to gain traction with the series, as I was unfamiliar with the original source material, I found myself treated to a unique action-packed experience. Alita is unquestionably one of the top action films of 2019. I know it’s early, but I have no reason to doubt that my claim will be just as true as the year continues. I would have liked it a bit more if they expanded on the universe slightly more, but it was still a solid opening for the inevitable franchise.

"The math is right. Something else must be wrong."

Remember math class back when you were in grade school? Yeah, I know. Talk about your horror and nightmares. There used to be this thing called a Venn diagram. I imagine it was named after a guy named Venn. The idea was you had two circles. Inside the circles you had stuff. There were the things in circle A, the things in circle B, and then there were the things in a shaded area where the circles intersected like the Olympic rings. That's the only way I can really describe the experience I had watching Happy Death Day 2 U. I had not seen the first film, so I borrowed a copy and watched it literally hours before I attended the screening for the new movie. I thought it was shaving things a bit close, but it turned out to be the most fortunate circumstances that could have happened. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen Happy Death Day. You need to watch these films as closely together as you can, because this isn't a sequel, it's a lateral move to another angle. And these two films are intersecting like crazy. These would have been Venn's kind of movies.

I’m sure many of you reading this review have seen documentaries about war that have run on cable TV.  The most prevalent is World at War that covers World War II and other American conflicts.  Digging through archives of war museums could be a very difficult task and one that would have to be approved by the powers that be.  Most of you also know Peter Jackson for his films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy.  He also released the recent Mortal Engines that is currently in theaters. Well, put him in a room filled with British war movie film taken during World War I and he’ll come up with They Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary that shows the gritty battles of the Great War and the men who fought it. And It’s Utterly Amazing!

“With great power comes a responsibility to tell the truth.”

What do men want? For some it is money and fame; for others it may be power or prestige. However, for a majority I believe it is the love of a good woman. This debate is at the heart of the What Men Want, the Tariji P. Henson-led romantic comedy this guaranteed to have all the ladies running to the box office this weekend. I’m sure the title of this film sounds quite familiar, as it serves as a polar opposite to the 2000 Mel Gibson-led What Woman Want. Basically a rehashed plot and modernized from the female perspective, I expected the film to grow stale quite quickly, but despite my assumptions, I remained entertained the entire run of the movie, and that is due to charismatic performance of Henson and her chemistry with her love interest, the talented Aldis Hodge of Leverage fame.

We are only a couple weeks into the new year, and this weekend one of 2019’s most anticipated releases is M. Night Shyamalan’s conclusion to his superhero trilogy with Glass. This has been a trilogy 19 years in the making, following the release of Unbreakable and then 2016’s Split. When I first saw Unbreakable, I was a projectionist, and I had to screen it the night before it was released to make sure everything was spliced together and the film played properly, and I just remember not really liking the movie at first.  I ended up giving the film another try, and I found I liked it a little more. Now over the years I’ve seen it several times, and the film has grown on me.  I’ve grown to appreciate the film to the point that when that final scene in Split plays and we got the reveal of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), I was extremely excited at the prospect of seeing this character revisited.  Before I get much further, if you haven’t seen Unbreakable or Split, if you plan on seeing Glass, do yourself a favor and watch the previous films first, and even if you have seen them, it wouldn’t hurt re-watching them just so the films are fresh in your mind while experiencing the conclusion of this trilogy.  With all that out of the way, how was the film?  It’s time to suit up and find out.

It’s that time of year again, when all the studios are cranking out the films they are hoping will get some awards attention.  This is usually the time of year where I’m getting a bit excited, because usually around this time (in theory) some of my favorite films of the year will be released.  But a strange thing has happened this year. Though there have been several good films to come out this year, there hasn’t been one that truly separates itself from the pack and I can say “this is the best picture”.  Instead this year has been rather lackluster, and with a film like On The Basis of Sex, despite all the talent surrounding the film, lackluster is simply what is delivered to the audience.

Just in case the documentary RBG wasn’t enough Ruth Bader Ginsburg for you, Hollywood has churned out a legal love story just in time for the holidays.  Rather than produce another film that spans the career of Ginsburg, On the Basis of Sex instead sets its focus on her early years from being a Harvard law student to her taking a case where her client is being denied tax deductions because he is a man. Despite Ginsburg having such a long career in the legal system, it’s a shame the film chooses to focus on such a minimal amount of time with her career. What’s worse is the pacing of the last hour of the film plays out like a boring episode of Law and Order.

By John Delia, Jr.

The world of the Transformers is back with more action, adventure, and science fiction fun for everyone. The most loved Autobot from this world has a history that explains where these troubled characters all began. As the battle of Cybertron comes to a conclusion, the Autobots make their move to flee from the Decepticons to an unknown location to later meet up and regroup. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) tells B-127/Bumble Bee (Dylan O’Brien) that he must flee and head to earth and hide until it is safe to meet up again. Once on earth, Bumble Bee must find a place to be unnoticed. He must find a secure safe location for his fellow Autobots and defend earth until Optimus Prime returns. During his landing on to earth, he encounters a team of soldiers training for battle called Sector 7. This team led by Agent Jack Burns (John Cena) fear for their lives when the capsule transporting B-127 crashes in the forest nearly on top of his team.