The Reel World

You might call me jaded, but I am pretty disappointed by the state of horror movies. It's not just the last few years. The truth is I haven't seen 10 really good horror movies in over a decade. Now that I've had a chance to see A Quiet Place, that number isn't going up. A Quiet Place is not a really good horror movie. It ends up making a lot of the same mistakes that filmmakers think define a horror film in the modern age. It relies too heavily on jump scares and characters who do some of the most idiotic things, thus placing them in a somewhat self-created dangerous situation. But I will make the argument that A Quiet Place is still a pretty good horror film because of a rather clever and unique concept and a filming process that allows us care for these characters more than the usual horror film red shirt fodder that too often leaves me rooting for the monster in a Darwin-like weed-out-the-gene-pool kind of way.

Like so many others, when I read the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline I simply fell in love with the nostalgic ride through the 80’s, all thanks to the virtual reality world called The Oasis.  From start to finish it was a book filled with pop culture references that would make film and video game geeks squeal with delight, and it was no surprise that the book was a hit and would be turned into a film.  There were only two names I could think of that could ever come close to making this film a reality: Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg.  With Spielberg involved, he was the only person I could imagine that had the clout to get all the licensing rights needed to pull this adaption, but still the biggest question I had was does Spielberg still have it in him?

When Pacific Rim first came out, I had a blast with the film.  It was the ultimate giant-monster-versus-giant-robot film that my inner ten-year-old has wanted to see for so long.  Sure, the film had some dialog issues, but the world that Guillermo del Toro created with the film was so over-the-top and beautiful that the bad dialog was easy to forget.  It knew what it was, brainless eye candy, and it delivered in a big way. Now we have the sequel coming out; del Toro is no longer at the helm, and in his place we have Steven S. DeKnight whose previous directorial efforts have been episodes from Daredevil and Dollhouse.  Does the sequel hold up?  Well, to put it bluntly, not even close.

For some reason, adapting videogames into good films has been the nut Hollywood just can’t seem to crack. The Resident Evil series has been successful, but I wouldn’t say it really holds up to the game. Personally, Silent Hill has been the only adaption I’ve really enjoyed, and that film has divided fans as well. As for the Tomb Raider franchise that kicked off in 2001, sure it had some fun sequences. And with Angelina Jolie becoming a hot commodity at the time, it’s not too much of a surprise that it did well at the box office. Now 17 years later, the time has come for Tomb Raider to get a makeover

“We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts.”

Much has been made about the fact that Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time is the most expensive movie ever directed by a woman of color, carrying a reported $103 million price tag. The good news is the filmmaker has absolutely infused her own personality and perspective into this live-action Disney spectacle. (No small feat, by the way.) The bad news is that DuVernay has taken those considerable resources and made a wildly uneven movie that, at various points, somehow manages to look both way more expensive and way cheaper than its budget would suggest.

“Don’t give them all of you Dominika. Hold something back. That is how you will survive.”

There appears to be nothing Jennifer Lawrence can’t do: she is an Oscar winner, the face of a successful movie franchise, and now she is a Russian spy that specializes in seduction techniques. Now in the looks department, there are scores of men that would gladly hand over their social security number for the opportunity to be seduced by J Law, so her casting was a no brainer. But she went much deeper than that, showing an unparalleled intellect and natural aptitude for the world of espionage.

"Welcome to game night".

Everybody loves playing games. OK, most people like playing games. Friends have been getting together for game nights since there have been games. From the couples’ bridge days of the 1950's to poker night with the guys, most of us have gotten together to play some kind of a game with friends. The thing about games is that they're frivolous. Playing games with some buddies is a good excuse to kill a few hours, maybe have a few drinks. You're not solving the world's problems, and it's usually just a simple night of entertainment. The same can be said for New Line Cinema's Game Night starring Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and Kyle Chandler.

Going into Annihilation a couple days ago I had only seen the trailer once but was excited for it based on the strength of Alex Gardner’s first directorial effort Ex Machina. The film is based on a series of books that I had never read, and from what I understand the film takes many liberties with the storyline and characters. As his sophomore effort behind the camera, there were high expectations for what Garland would do, and the result I believe is one of the most divisive films I’ve seen in a while. This is the kind of film that gets me excited for the future of cinema, not just because I loved the film, but I love the conversation it can provoke with other filmgoers.

"Tell me a story."

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the comic book character of Black Panther in 1966 for an issue of The Fantastic Four. He became the first black superhero in the comic world. He starred in Marvel's Jungle Action title before getting his own comic. The character was popular, but through an unfortunate set of circumstances he was at times thought to be related to the militant group of the same name that popped up that same year. For a short time he went by the name Black Leopard, but the original name rose above the unintended connection and continued to enjoy on and off success over the decades. Black Panther was introduced to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with Captain America: Civil War. He's finally getting his own film

Clint Eastwood has been at the top of the game both as an actor and a director, often both at the same time. There's no question that he still has the skills. Unfortunately, 15:17 To Paris isn't a great example of his direction skills. Don't get me wrong. There is a nice intense film in here, but it only lasts for about 10 minutes and hungrily screams out for more of the same. Eastwood's problem is much the same that he had in Sully. He doesn't really have enough material for a truly great feature film, so he is forced to fill the screen time with something he hopes will entertain us long enough to stay with him for the good stuff. But as Clint said once as Dirty Harry: "A man's got to know his limitations."