Not since Snakes on a Plane has a title for a movie  been so absurd that I just had to see the movie. While Snakes on a Plane delivered on its B-movie camp, it was still kind of a bad movie no matter how hard Samuel L Jackson seemed to try to carry that film.  Cocaine Bear embraces its absurd title, and it goes over the top and beyond with a black ear ingesting more cocaine than Tony Montana would ever dare to snort. The film is loosely based on true events, the truth being that a drug runner did die while tossing numerous bags of cocaine out of a plane in 1985 and that a bear was found dead after ingesting a large quantity of cocaine. This film attempts to rewrite history by posing the “what if?” that the bear encounters many unfortunate humans while on its cocaine binge.  For me the moment I heard they were making this a movie,  it was on my radar. I mean, this is the kind of storyline that gets me grinning ear to ear, because I know it has the potential to be great if put into the right hands. The Broken Lizard gang (Super Troopers) or David Wain (Role Models) would have been my first guesses at who would snatch up this project, but when I heard Elizabeth Banks was going to be at the helm, I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant. As an actress I love her work, but behind the camera she had Pitch Perfect 2, which was of course successful, but let’s face it, I’m not the film’s demographic. Then she had the recent Charlie’s Angels reboot, and we all know how that did.  I wanted to remain optimistic till I at least saw the trailer to see how she’d tackle the project, because honestly this was either going to be a hit or a miss, but when I saw that trailer my worries were put at ease, and this was back to being one of my more anticipated movies of the year.

The film opens up in 1985 over Georgia, and we see Thornton (Matthew Rhys) tossing the cocaine-filled bags out of the plane and then his unfortunate (yet humorous) demise. We  then get to met  a charming couple that is on a hike in the hills of Chattahoochee, Georgia. They are the first to cross paths with the “cocaine bear”, and, well, let’s just say nature isn’t too kind to them. While these opening minutes set the tone of the film, buckle up, because things are only going to get crazier as the film progresses. As for the actual plot of the film, it is a bit of an ensemble piece with a bunch of characters that are doing their own thing, but the “cocaine bear” just is wreaking havoc and is simply making everyone’s bad day even worse.

I think it’s best that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the last in the series. That is not meant as a condemnation of the film; in my opinion after this outing, it is hard to see how the series fits into Marvel’s overall plans. I’m sure Ant-Man and the Wasp will be featured in the future Avengers movies, and that is fine, but as a solo vehicle, this film kind of showed that the prestige for this franchise has faded. When the first film was released, I was skeptical of what value it could bring to the franchise, and I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it far more than I expected to. The sequel was decent enough, while in some cases lacking some of the comedic elements of the first one. This time, the film seems to have lost all the lighthearted humor and felt forced. Rudd does his best to endear the character to the audience, but in this incarnation, he feels more like a secondary character in a film where he plays the titular character. Then there is the other titular character, the Wasp, a.k.a. Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne. Her role, too, feels reduced. When the two main characters become the least significant characters in their own franchise, I believe that signifies that the writing is on the wall. It’s time to hang it up.

That said, there were still things that I greatly appreciated about the film. Most notably, another opportunity to observe Jonathan Majors as a villain. His introduction in Loki garnered a lot of intrigue, and despite that short appearance, it was clear that he was going to be a significant force going forward. It left us starving for more, and he did not disappoint on this second outing. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he became the biggest draw for the film. Jonathan Majors is an actor who seems to have exploded on the scene. He brings something different to every performance. This is a quality that is greatly appreciated, and needed given the person that he is portraying. This version of Kang is not the version we met in Loki. In Loki, we met He Who Remains; here we are being introduced to the Conqueror for the first time. The film does a great job of building up the mystique of the character long before we see him on the screen via the fear that characters such as Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer) exhibit at the mere mention of him. And then we see him, and he embodies everything that you want in a Marvel villain. Majors delivers a compelling performance. Though his interpretation, Kang has a quiet strength. He hardly raises his voice, but he intimidates you all the same. There is an intensity to him; the smallest gestures have deep impact. A perfect example of this is shown when he disciplines an underling for stepping out of place. He barely twitches a finger, but the end result demonstrates why this character is as feared as he is. Only Majors could command that kind of presence in my opinion. Presence is what the franchise needs as they look to reestablish their dominance following the epic conclusion of the Infinity Saga. As we enter the Multiverse Saga, I believe Majors will be relied on greatly to propel the franchise forward, and I have no doubt that he is up to the task.

"You see, the four of us have a very important job to do. In fact, it might be the most important job in the history of the world."

What is it about a cabin in the woods that makes it a good place for the apocalypse? When I think of those isolated cabins, I think of good ol' Abe Lincoln or a group of guys bonding over a fishing/hunting weekend. But when it comes to folks like Joss Whedon or now M. Night Shyamalan, they see disaster. Where I see a day on the lake, these guys see the end of the world. It's not like Shyamalan hasn't brought us there before. The box office bomb After Earth comes to mind. So what about his latest effort, Knock At The Cabin? The trailers appear to pretty much give the plot away, but pleasantly there's a little bit more to it than that. I'm a huge fan of the man's mostly early works. The Sixth Sense, The Village, Signs, Unbreakable, and even the more recent Split and Glass are all first-rate films in my book. But lately it's been more hit than miss from the guy who grew up in the same Philly area playpen where I grew up. So, flop or fantastic? Knock At The Cabin falls somewhere in the middle, which is a new experience for me from a Shyamalan movie.