The Reel World

“You have been my greatest love. Be careful, Diana...they do not deserve you.”

Ever since Richard Donner made us believe that a man can fly with 1978's Superman — considered by many to be the first modern superhero film — we've gotten three different Men of Steel, along with five different versions of Batman (if you don't count Will Arnett's voiceover work). Heck, in the last 15 years alone we've had three Spider-Men and (incredibly) gone through three Hulks! Yet in all that time, a movie starring Wonder Woman — a superhero just as iconic as all the ones I just mentioned — could never get off the ground...until now. I'm happy to report it was worth the wait.

“This may seem a peculiar request...but could someone explain why I'm here?”

That question is posed slurred by Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's perpetually sloshed swashbuckler, during his very first appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Given that this is the fifth film in a faded franchise — and that Depp probably needs the money — the answer for why any of this is happening appears to be painfully obvious. Which is why I was delighted (and frankly a little shocked) by how much fun I had watching this latest entry, which manages to entertain while openly plundering the original movie's winning formula.

In the vein established by 21 Jump Street of taking a serious television series and transforming it into a comedy comes Baywatch. I’m sure everyone remembers Baywatch, possibly one of the most watched television series of all time that featured buxom ladies like Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth in tight swimsuits, running in slow motion.  Transplanted for a moderate time period, this film adaptation features this generation’s hard bodies such as Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, and Alexandria Daddario (those eyes are hypnotic) taking on the established and iconic roles of Matt Brody, Mitch Buchannon, and Summer Quinn.

In Emerald Bay, an elite squad of lifeguards patrols the beach, going above and beyond to protect the people of the community. Led by Mitch Buchannon, this group finds themselves investigating murder and the increase in drug activity, which leads to businesswoman Victoria Leeds, who has a plan to privatize the beach, and surrounding businesses.

Alien Covenant is a perfect example of making a plan and sticking with it, because if you don’t you may be infected by an alien organism that will explode out of your chest. Graphic, I know, but informative, right? The latest installment in the Alien franchise picks up sometime after Prometheus and continues to pursue the critical question that was posed in the previous film: who created life? An intergalactic colonial expedition comes to face to face with their worst nightmare. It’s ironic how a mission to preserve life results in so much death.

Fifteen years after the events of Prometheus, a colony ship named Covenant is bound for a remote planet with thousands of colonist and embryos when they are struck by a neutrino burst (think of it as a power space storm) which damages the ship as well as results in the death of several colonists as well as members of the crew, including the ship’s captain (James Franco). Thrust into the leadership role, Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) finds himself overwhelmed by his new position and dissent among the crew.

Director Doug Liman has been a director whose career I’ve enjoyed following since I was in high school and first saw Swingers. It was one of those cool independent films that appeared in the mid-90’s when independent films were all the rage.  A couple years later he did the film Go which I felt beautifully captured the rave culture that had taken the states by storm but the film was quickly overlooked.  Then he got his big break with The Bourne Identity and as his career expanded to Mr. and Mrs. Smith so did the budgets ie: Edge of Tomorrow. Now with the release of The Wall Liman seems to have gone back to his roots in a way in creating one of the most intimate and intense war films to hit the cinemas, despite its major release being set by Amazon Studios.

After being called out to a site where a group of contractors were attacked, two American soldiers are sent out to investigate the site.  When the film starts, Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Matthews (John Cena) have already been hidden and monitoring the site for more than 18 hours and have seen no movement and believe the site is secure, believing if there was a sniper he would have already left by this point.  It’s when the pair go to investigate the scene they discover that they are not alone in the process but men are wounded and separated.

So it finally happened; I found a Guy Ritchie film that I didn’t enjoy. I wasn’t expecting much from King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, but it is worth noting that I got even less than I expected. I know that sounds cruel, and I will admit that there were a few thing that I did enjoy, but the amount of things that went wrong versus what went right is not a close margin. Before we get into it fully, let me issue this disclaimer: the sword in the stone, which is known in the film as Excalibur, according to Arthurian legend is not really Excalibur, which is a different sword that Arthur was given after he became king.

Born into royalty, Arthur is the heir apparent to his father, King Uther's (Eric Bana) throne as well as his father’s sword, Excalibur (again, not the real Excalibur) until the king’s most trusted advisor, Vortigan (Jude Law), betrays Uther and usurps his throne and plots to kill young Arthur. Though he is killed, Uther manages to get his son to safety and prevent Vortigan from taking the sword, which becomes lodged in a stone and submerged at the bottom of the lake. Discovered alone, Arthur is taken in by the ladies of a local brothel, forgetting his past and birthright. However, a legend is whispered that one day the born king will return and end Vortigan’s reign.

“Of course I have issues; that’s my father.” 

When I walked out of the theater in 2014 after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy I knew I had just seen something special, and knowing a sequel was already guaranteed had me excited to see what was next for this band of misfits.  Since the release in 2014 the film hasn’t just become my favorite Marvel film; it is one of my favorite films, period.  So as photos and trailers began to trickle out, I began to wonder if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 could actually hold up to the first.  For many the first film was a surprise hit that no one saw coming, something so toe-tapping fun between the soundtrack and action scenes, but most importantly it was the chemistry of the Guardians that had won over the audiences.

One of the hardest things to pull off in a movie is the minimalist "ship in a bottle" trick. Television shows do it often to try to save money on their seasons. Most of the time it doesn’t work. There are notable exceptions. The same is true for a movie. You have to limit your running time. You have to quickly set up a small group of characters, and you can't waste any time getting to the point. Ben Wheatley hits all of the right buttons in Free Fire, and he's promising to take you on a hell of a ride without ever changing locations. It looks so simple. You figure anybody can do it...and they can. But few can do it well. The entire action in the 85-minute film could have easily been a throwaway scene in another feature film. A lesser director could have done it in almost no time at all before moving on to set up their next shot. But then you'd have something... well... lesser, wouldn't you?

The plot couldn't be any simpler. It's set in the 1970's. We aren't told this, but the styles kind of give it away. Oh, and the John Denver 8-track tape likely really gives it away. We join a group of criminals at an abandoned warehouse in the dead of the night. Introductions are made, and they proceed to close an arms deal. Things get complicated when it comes out that one of the buyers sexually assaulted the cousin of one of the sellers the night before at a bar while he was high and drunk. He got beaten, and they never expected to see each other again. Now here they are. In the blink of an eye the tense deal breaks down, and the shooting starts. It pretty much turns into the titular free fire when a third group shows up with sniper rifles. Before long everyone is shooting at everyone. It's easy to lose count of who shoots who. The cast is crawling through the debris and trying to either get the money and get out or reach a phone that starts ringing so they can call for reinforcements. But here you fight for every inch, and it's amazing how many times a person can get shot without actually dying. There is some dying; it just takes a lot of bullets.

The best way to describe this film is epic; they really don’t make films like this anymore, and leave it to Amazon Studios to present us with such an ambitious film.  At one time Brad Pitt was set to star in the film, and then the lead role was offered up to Benedict Cumberbatch. Due to his conflicting schedule with Doctor Strange, he too had to drop out. Eventually Charlie Hunnam (Crimson Peak, Sons of Anarchy) was given the role, and to be honest, I don’t think there is another actor who is more suited for the role. Percy Fawcett (Hunnam) was a loyal soldier in the British army who seemed to never get the recognition that he deserved, and frankly this is something I feel Hunnam can relate to. He’s been in some great roles over the years, but somehow he’s a guy who’s been overlooked and hasn’t quite gotten the spotlight that he deserves.  Now he is poised to explore the wilds of the South American jungle in the new film from James Gray. Does the famous explorer find his lost city?  Climb aboard, and I’ll tell you all about it. I hope you’ve had all your shots and brought some bug repellent.

In 1906 Fawcett made his first journey into the Amazonian jungle with his partner Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) for a mission that would have them mapping the borders of the country.  It’s at a time where there is a dispute over who controls the rubber that is being found in the jungle, and Fawcett has been hired by a neutral party to settle the border lines.  To continue their journey through the jungle it requires the men, along with some guides, to journey to the end of a river, a task that is believed to be impossible due to the natives and other natural threats that prowl about in the jungle.

Family is everything to Dominic Toretto. He has said as much in Furious 7, “I don’t have friends, I have family.” Over the course of seven films, we have seen him undertake impossible task including driving a car off a plane or through a building in order to rescue or avenge a member of said family. So what would make him make him betray that very family? In The Fate of the Furious, the team will face the biggest challenge they have ever faced when they find themselves working against their very leader. The long-running film franchise continues to up the ante with the action, producing its most action-packed film to date. Every time I think that there is no way the series can top itself, they add a tank or drive off a plane. This time, they got a submarine, y’all.

When we pick up with the team, Dominic and Letty are enjoying their honeymoon in Havana, Cuba. Their bliss is cut short, when Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has to call on Dom and his team to help him recover a stolen WMD. The heist is a success, and the team is on their way back to the rendezvous when Dom throws a curveball, stealing the weapon and disappearing. This betrayal hits everyone hard, especially Letty, who finds it impossible to believe. Adding to the shock is the return of Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) with a junior associate (Scott Eastwood) in tow, or Lil’ Nobody as Roman and Tej like to call him. Nobody informs the team that Dom stole the weapon at the request of Cipher (Charlize Theron) and that the two are working together.