The Reel World

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.

The film picks up after the events of the previous film with Hiccup embracing his role as the chief of Berk and its citizens. Along with his Night Fury dragon Toothless, and aided by his closest companion, he has taken the mission of liberating captured dragons from poachers. Though his actions are noble, this mission is creating a strain on Berk, as it is resulting in overcrowding as well as depleting their resources. Seeking a solution to this issue, Hiccup recalls a tale his father told him as a boy about a hidden world where all dragons originate from. He becomes determined to find his world so that his people and their dragons can live in harmony away from the threat of poachers.

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.

By the year 2563, the world has been ravaged by a catastrophic war known as “The Fall,” dividing the population, high-born members of society reside in a sky city known as Zalem, while low-born people live underneath in the junkyard metropolis known as Iron City. Many low-born people have cybernetic limbs and enhancements. One day cyborg surgeon Dr. Dyson Ido discovers a disembodied female cyborg with a fully intact human brain. Providing it with a body, the cyborg returns to life but does not remember her former life or her own name. Naming it Alita, Ido takes the cyborg and raises it like a daughter.

"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!

The film opens in theaters on the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I.  It’s a fitting tribute and reminder of the men who fought hard to end tyranny during that time of history.  But more importantly it shows the trauma, squalor, and pressure the ill-equipped British Army was under and the awful foe they had to face.

“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.

As the film opens up, it takes place not long after the events in Split, and we see that Kevin (James McAvoy) is under the control of his 24 personalities, and “The Beast” is responsible for numerous murders.  The media has following the killer and has been calling him “The Horde”. Also in pursuit of the killer is David, who with the aid of his son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark, who played his son in the first film) are fighting crime together with their home base being a security shop that they run together.  The opening act of this film is great; it flows nicely, and when we get to see David have his showdown with “The Beast”, it’s hard to not get excited for what is to come.  It’s the direction the film goes from here where I can see there being disappointment in what follows from this point up to the end of the film.

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.

“My father was a lighthouse keeper. My mother was a queen. But life has a way of bringing people together. They made me what I am.”

It’s been a rough year for the DC Universe, losing both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman respectively. In a time when Marvel is heading towards a big finale of sorts, this should be when DC goes full steam towards capitalizing on any residual momentum. The loss of two members of the Justice League is going to put a crimp in that plan; however, thanks to the release of Aquaman, DC does not have to start from scratch. Jason Momoa returns as the titular character in this origin story of sorts. One of the breakout stars of the critical failure that was the Justice League movie, Momoa proves that he was made to command the seven seas.

“Everything is possible…even the impossible.”

To be clear, the fact that Disney has delivered a big-budget, star-studded follow-up to one of the most beloved family films in its staggering catalog is *exceedingly* possible. This is, after all, the age of reboots and live-action remakes of movies we already love. What seems impossible is that Mary Poppins Returns and its sensational leading lady both live up to and (re)capture the spirit of the Walt Disney-produced Julie Andrews classic from more than 50 years ago!