The Reel World

- “It’s my job to keep you out of harm’s way.”

- “I am harm’s way!”

In The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Samuel L. Jackson is the very definition of badass as contract killer Darius Kincaid. Which begs the question: why would a prolific hitman need a bodyguard? That question is a great source of entertainment throughout the film’s duration. Needless to say, the bodyguard is not necessary, but no one could ever doubt that the pairing of Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds is comedic gold. The Hitman’s Bodyguard is without question one of the best films of the summer.

Following the success of The Conjuring, it was no surprise that sequels would follow, but I have to admit seeing an Annabelle film was a bit unexpected. While The Conjuring was based on true events (as true as one may or may not wish to believe in the paranormal), Annabelle was mostly a work of fiction. I’ll admit I’m a bit of the fan of the Warrens and have read plenty about their investigations, and I certainly feel their life is ripe for the Hollywood treatment along with the hundreds of case files they developed over the years.  While the first Annabelle did well at the box office, it took a beating by critics, but those involved at the studio see that there is still money to be made as they continue to expand the franchise.

It’s difficult to be original and innovative when it comes to tackling a haunted house film. Ghost stories have been around for ages and told just about every way you can imagine, so what do you do to give the audience something they have never seen before? After coming back from directing Pete’s Dragon, writer/ director David Lowry a delivers a small intimate film that manages to take the haunted house story and makes it something unique from all the rest. Though when I say unique, and when I say innovative this may not be a positive for some. The film begins by introducing us to a couple played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara; their characters are simply credited as C & M.

John Wick was an action film that seemed to sneak up on everyone. Sure, it had a great trailer, but I don’t think anyone expected to walk away from just how great it actually was. What made it so effective weren’t just the well-choreographed fights and the stylish look of the film, but it was the characters that while over the top, were also ones the audience could relate to. Atomic Blonde is helmed by half the directing team that gave us the first John Wick, and from what the trailers first teased us with, I came into it with hopes we’d get something special.  While on the surface I can’t say that this film surpasses John Wick, what it does is stand alone for being a culturally and socially important film as it delivers not just the ultimate badass female in an action film, but I believe the first that belongs in the LBGT community.  It’s a big deal what this character represents, but how does the rest of the film fare throughout the fistfights and shootouts?

When Christopher Nolan has a new release, it’s an event to get excited about. There are few directors I can say this about. Sure, there are directors that I like, but still there are few who manage to capture what makes going to the cinema an experience. Dunkirk is his latest cinematic opus. Despite it being his shortest film, with the exception of The Following; this is the first time he has shot a film entirely in IMAX form. What’s the big deal? Well, aside from the picture being twice the size of the regular format, what he does with these cameras is deliver a beautifully striking picture of destruction and survival.  There’s a lot of buzz going around with this film, and already it’s being looked at as the first real Oscar contender of the year.  Is the film worth the hype?  Is it really Nolan’s best picture?

"All of human history has led to this moment. The irony is we created you. And nature has been punishing us ever since. This is our last stand. And if we lose... it will be a Planet of Apes."

I was always a fan of the original Planet Of The Apes series of films. While they often flirted with a camp style, I was impressed with John Chambers' makeup effects and the performances of Roddy McDowall as both Cornelius and Caesar.

"If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it."

Email hacks have taken over a big part of our nation's conversation in recent times. Lost in the election leaks is the fact that Sony executives were also hacked, with many embarrassing emails released on the internet. The result was that the Sony Spider-Man plans for an extended universe of their own fell victim to the reveals. Executives were out of jobs, and suddenly Marvel and Sony were at the negotiating table, and while Sony still retains certain film rights to the friendly neighborhood

For the most part it seems the summer blockbusters tend to be sequels, superhero films, or CGI bonanzas that are simply eye candy to get us to films in the dark auditoriums to escape the heat. It’s rare that something comes along that is so clever and as fresh as Baby Driver.  Personally I’ve been a fan of Edgar Wright from the moment I first saw Shaun of the Dead, he was a writer and director that I felt knew how to make films fun. When he was set to direct his dream project Ant-Man, I was excited to see him finally get a chance to do a giant tent-pole studio film, but weeks before filming was set to begin he got pulled away and replaced. When it got announced he was working on an action-comedy named Baby Driver well I was excited but the film’s title had me scared, fears of him doing something along the lines of Baby’s Day Out ran through my mind

The Despicable Me series that includes Minions never seems to get tiring as they extend their comedy one more time with Despicable Me 3, opening this weekend. The key to the filmmaker’s success is the handling of the characters and inserting them into the animated movie with a plan in mind. That plan consists of starting with a little comedy involving the Minions, then working into some intense action that leads to a champion who either succeeds or fails. In the meantime there are multiple stories going on with each one targeting certain audience members.  Sounds complicated? Well, the best comedy adventure is intricate, and Illumination Studios does that very well.

“These movies that I’ve done, they are massive movies. They take a lot out of you.”

That’s director Michael Bay talking about his decade-long work on the Transformers franchise on the eve of the fifth(!) film’s arrival. The movie also doubles as Bay’s swan song in the director’s chair, so when he says, “They take a lot out of you,” the filmmaker is presumably talking about the massive amount of energy and manpower (and horsepower) these big-budget bonanzas require. The problem is “They take a lot out of you” has also applied more and more to each subsequent movie in this series. Transfomers: The Last Knight isn’t just a bad movie…it is painful and exhausting to watch.