In 2015, Sicario
delivered a tightly wound thriller with some remarkable craftsmanship and
managed to garner enough attention to warrant a sequel. A sequel that quite a
few were skeptical about from the beginning and losing talent like director
Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins didn’t do anything to qualm
those fears. However, Sicario: Day of the
Soldado seems to have turned out alright, though maybe not within the same
realm of success.
Friday, June 29, 2018
Friday, June 22, 2018
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Review
At the time, the success of Jurassic World wasn’t
anticipated, at least not to that extent. However, hindsight is 20/20, and the
smashing numbers from the long awaited fourth installment make all the sense in
the world. Take a charismatic lead actor, throw in some nostalgia for dinosaurs
and a park that people want to see functioning, and then have everything go
wrong is an equation that equates to a fun blockbuster in the truest sense of
the word. Now, the sequel looks to capture that all again, but can it even get
close or does it dawn a truly terrible turn for the franchise. The truth is,
it’s somewhere in between.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Tag - Review
The concept of a group of grown men playing a game of tag
for thirty years sounds like something out of a film. But sometimes truth
is stranger than fiction, and Tag just happens to turn that
idea into a feature length film. Fortunately, they’ve assembled a solid cast to
bring this story to life, even if the premise doesn’t seem to be enough to fill
a full film. A fictionalized version of this unbelievable tale should be a fun
time if nothing else, emphasis on should.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Superfly - Review
In a long list of remakes, a clear line of distinction can
be made between those that worth it and those that obviously missed the mark.
Arguably, more often than not a remake falls in the latter category, failing to
capture any aspect of what made the original what it was. Superfly is
already two steps behind, as translating themes from a 70s Blaxploitation film
to the 21st century is nearly impossible, and yet they still tried.
Career criminal Youngblood Priest (Trevor Jackson) wants out
of the Atlanta drug scene, but as he ramps up sales, one little slip up
threatens to bring the whole operation down before he can make his exit.
It’s the same old tired ‘one last score’ plot thread that
seems standard for any film involving criminals of some kind. But where some
films can get clever with the concept, Superfly just comes off
as tired and dull. And despite of having plenty of relevant social avenues to
venture down, including even touching upon police brutality in one of the
movie’s decent scenes, the film lacks any sense of realism. The film lives in a
dream world of extravagance, swapping out the gritty streets of Harlem for the
far sleeker setting of Atlanta is the first clue that the remake is going for
something entirely separate from the original outside of the title. Rather than
creating an aesthetic that is reminiscent of the 70s era Blaxploitation
original, Superfly goes for imagery that’s ripped straight
from a music video, an area Director X. is familiar with, for better or
worse.
The only real saving grace of the film, if you can even call
it that, are the performances. The young actor Trevor Jackson does enough as
Priest, hardly enough to leave a huge impression however. He carries the film
decently enough, with a suave demeanor and certain flair about him, but being
smooth certainly doesn’t make an interesting character alone. Jason Mitchell is
expectedly great in his role as the somewhat capable if not a little less
diligent partner of Priest. He is easily the high point of the film, though not
the only good performance. With little screentime to work with, Michael K. Williams manages to bring a menacing presence during his limited role, making
one wonder if his part should’ve been expanded in some way.
Unfortunately, the action follows the same style as the
glossiness of the film itself. Everything is either over stylized or repetitive
in the same way that, again, a music video may be. Director X. has removed
any sensible reason for a remake like this to exist. Rather than pulling ideas
and placing them through a modern filter, he leaves the ideas completely out,
resulting in a film that’s all modern style with no substance.
Overall, Superfly falls
more in line with the pointless remakes that have come before rather than
becoming anything worthwhile. A couple of good performances in support of a
decent lead in Jackson are not enough to outweigh the numerous issues with the
narrative, action or tone of the film. The film is likely be lost in the
shuffle of the weekend anyway, but it doesn’t help that Superfly is
anything but super.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Incredibles 2 - Review
Perhaps the most in demand and most anticipated animated
sequel in recent memory, if not ever, is finally here. Incredibles 2 has
arrived, and after fourteen long years of waiting, it’s about time. Pixar is
not necessarily fond of sequels, only producing six since 1995, and their track
record with follow-ups isn’t great either, only about half of those were met
with praise or box office success. The odds of Incredibles 2 living up
to the original wouldn’t be terribly high if the numbers are anything to go by,
but we can still hope it was all worth the wait.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Hotel Artemis - Review
Every once and a while a film comes along that seemingly
sprung up from nowhere. Hotel Artemis just so happens to be one of
those films. With little marketing until the past week or two, the film has
jumped into theaters with a little bit of buzz and a really good cast. But
those two things alone do not make a good movie, and unfortunately, none of the
other parts of Hotel Artemis do either.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Ocean's 8 - Review
In a Hollywood that is increasingly aware of its gender
inequities, it seems perfectly timed to bring back an ensemble driven franchise
primed to be cast with a slew of top notch actresses. The Ocean’s franchise
has never groundbreaking, but the stylized filmmaking of Steven Soderbergh
elevated it tremendously as well as the stellar cast of actors. This go around,
the new direction can’t quite carry that same weight, leaving the actresses to
do much of the heavy lifting. Fortunately, for franchise’s sake, they are
exceedingly up to the task.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Hereditary - Review
Horror films are very rarely the type of cinematic
experiences you want go through alone, particularly the ones that are as wholly
unnerving as Hereditary. A slowly building sense of dread permeates from
every inch, every second of the film, creating something that, while certainly
a lesson in writing, directing, and acting, should not be experienced
alone.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Upgrade - Review
Blumhouse is an interesting production company. While undoubtedly
profitable due to the sheer number of low-budget horror films they release
every year, they still manage to slip in a handful of different films in that
are quite exceptional. Going from an award powerhouse last year in Get Out to the miserable Truth or Dare this year is certainly a
big turn. An awards run is definitely not on the table for Upgrade, but finds that sweet spot in between the two extremes.
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