Movie Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

8/10

An emotional rollercoaster thrill ride that also manages to hit all the right nostalgia buttons.

While the first act of Spider-Man: No Way Home seems content to follow the routine Marvel movie formula, the film packs enough twists and turns to elevate it above the previous two installments.

I usually prefer superhero films that are grounded in an element of reality (i.e., The Dark Knight), and the latest three Spider-Man films are definitely not that. They are almost meta in their hyper-awareness of their fictionality and cartoonish crossovers to other Marvel films.

Then again, the story is about a teenage guy who swings via a spider-like web over urban landscapes. How much realism should I really expect?

This film picks up where the previous entry left off. Spider-Man’s identity has been exposed, and it’s giving both him and his loved ones hell. With the aid of Dr. Strange (another Marvel superhero), he attempts to revert the past to a version in which no one ever knows that he is Peter Parker. The attempt goes awry (of course) and opens up other dimensions. Characters from previous Spider-Man films who know of Spider-Man’s identity are invited into this world. That means that previous Spider-Man universe villains appear (they’re the main characters who know that Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker, after all), and they’re all too eager to wreck havoc.

The film really piqued my interest when the previous two actors who portrayed Spider-Man, Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield, show up too. They are also Peter Parker, after all, albeit in different universes. They provide a much-needed emotional punch to the film and a few life lessons to pass on to this universe’s Peter Parker.

This film is ultimately a story about forgiveness and redemption, and bringing in the previous Spider-Man stars was the perfect way to explore these themes. The heavy emotional weight of the final act adds substance to the characters and plot that the previous films didn’t provide. I was glad that the movie dared to take a few unexpected and highly emotional turns.

As far as Marvel movies go, this is the best one in a long time.

Movie Review: Malignant

6/10

A bonkers and preposterous thriller that’s also a stylishly good time.

Having director James Wan attached to this film gave me false expectations. The Conjuring and Insidious are deftly crafted nail biters. They showcased Wan’s mastery of suspense, and I expected more of that with Malignant.

The plot centers on a woman who’s head trauma seems to awaken a demonic entity from her past, Gabriel. Gabriel knows her and they share an uncanny connection that leaves the audience wondering: are they the same person? Are they siblings? Is Gabriel the spirit of someone our protagonist killed?

Although this sounds like it could be genuinely horrific, Malignant isn’t remotely scary, nor is it remotely believable. At times it’s absurd enough to be laughable.

Yet it’s also visually stylish and often exciting. Wan seems to have shunned suspense here, but he made Malignant overwrought with gothic visuals and captivating action sequences.

The ending is too over the top to take seriously. But at the same time, it’s macabre fun.

There is some sort of Freudian psychoanalysis going on in the background of the film. It’s a little too Hollywood to go deep into that. But it’s there nonetheless.

I say just go along for the ride and don’t take it seriously. Malignant is a violent but rollicking good time.

Movie Review: The Suicide Squad

8/10

The often-hilarious romp has an excellent cast and brings hope for brighter days in the DC Universe.

I have superhero movie fatigue. In fact I had superhero movie fatigue twenty superhero films ago. The narrative structure is the same in just about all of the films, regardless of which comic book universe the films spring from. The heroes and villains blend together along with their storylines. They are woven mostly into mediocre fabric that is typically overhyped by the social media verse.

Even the recent DC box office successes did little to intrigue me. Wonder Woman and Aquaman mostly stuck to the same formula that skyrocketed the Avengers universe to success. They featured some great lead performances but little distinguishable or memorable outside a “grand final battle”.

The original Suicide Squad was a complete disaster, an exercise of style (and poorly edited style at that) over substance.

James Gunn was the perfect writer-director to revamp the franchise.

With Harley Quinn being the only returning character, I was glad to see Margot Robbie reprise the role. It was a highlight of the first Suicide Squad film. Surrounding her are a new band of misfits that are immediately more engaging and more likeable than the original cast. Highlights are John Cena as Peacemaker and Sylvester Stallone as King Shark. King Shark is arguably the greatest DC character to ever be put to screen. You wouldn’t think it possible that a giant shark/man hybrid with a dad bod who mistakenly tries to eat his own team member could be so endearing. Stallone’s voice is perfect for the character. John Cena, meanwhile, has a comedic talent that will hopefully be more widely recognized as a result of this film. I’ll take a Peacemaker film over anything from the Marvel universe.

Leading the new band of misfits is the always-engaging Idris Elba as Bloodsport, a hired assassin who was imprisoned for “putting a kryptonite bullet in Superman that sent him to the hospital.” Elba is perfect in the role, managing to be at once gritty, reckless, villainous, and likable.

The narrative as a hole adheres to the traditional superhero structure, but does so with enough twists and turns to distinguish this as a comic book move worth the theater price. Characters both good and bad die unexpectedly; the final battle is one for the history books. The movie’s introduction is arguably the greatest opening in superhero film history.

The script provides plenty of laughs. This was easily the funniest superhero film I’ve seen since Deadpool, even managing to be a superior romp to my favorite of the Marvel films, Thor: Ragnarok.

Here’s to hoping Gunn gets the reigns to the sequel!

Movie Review: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it

6/10

Same tropes and narrative structure as the first two Conjuring films, but with some effective jump scares and great performances.

If you’re considering watching the third Conjuring film, odds are that you’ve seen the first two. Odds are you also know what to expect, and rest assured the third film will deliver few surprises. Sometimes, though, a repetition of what worked in previous installments isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As in most franchises, the main character motivations are well established by the third installment of a series. In Fast and Furious, for example, it’s made abundantly clear in each installment that Dom is motivated purely by family. In The Conjuring, the Warrens are motivated by saving vulnerable souls from the sinister forces that aim to disrupt God’s work. You know they’ll have to reluctantly perform an exorcism or two, and you know the Annabelle doll will make an occasional cameo.

The first two Conjuring films succeeded partly from director James Wan’s expertise in creating jump scares, and partly because the performances from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens are well-done and believable. The two have legitimate on-screen chemistry, and the story keeps us hooked because of their unique occupation as exorcists/demon hunters, as well as their endearing marriage.

The third Conjuring film is mostly more of the same, but most of the elements that made the first two films successful remain. One can’t help but feel an emotional pull when one or both of the Warrens are in danger due to their quirky and believable relationship and affection for each other.

The Devil Made Me Do It does incorporate more procedural elements to the story as the Warrens investigate the forces behind a young murderer’s suspected demonic possession. Having a human behind the devilry adds a bit more of a physical threat that one would expect in detective film. However, I can’t say the procedural elements succeed in elevating the film above previous installments. They are just barely engaging enough to hold our attention between what we really want: the jump scares.

The scares are more or less created with the same formula: characters wander into and under places they shouldn’t, and we anticipate a terrible consequence, which tends to jump out at us suddenly. That said, they mostly work.

Don’t go into Conjuring 3 expecting a revolutionary horror film. However, it’s a fun diversion for the viewer looking to recapture the same tension and fun of the first two films.

Movie Review: Army of the Dead

6/10

Another overlong Zack Snyder film inundated with slo-mo, but with some solid action sequences and decent performances.

Clocking in at 148 minutes, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead clearly aims for an epic scope. The opening sequence presents an origin for the zombie apocalypse, as well as an origin for its ill-fated protagonists. A military vehicle containing something sinister crashes with a reckless driver just outside Las Vegas (sound familiar?), unleashing the imprisoned zombie within. This original zombie is very “Snyderized”: he’s well-muscled, intelligent, and a capable fighter. One would argue he’s essentially the Henry Cavill version of Superman, but in zombie form.

Las Vegas quickly gets sealed off by the government, and we are greeted by a montage of the film’s human warriors as they fend for themselves in the carnage. The main protagonist, Scott Ward (played convincingly by former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista), evokes elements of protagonists from most standard heist and zombie films. He killed a lot of zombies but lost his wife and now regrets a strained relationship with his daughter. But he’s dragged into “one last mission” to venture back into the walled-off Vegas and retrieve a millionaire’s fortune from a well-secured bank vault. And of course, he needs to assemble his old team to do so. They have to hurry because the US government plans to bomb the city in order to permanently destroy the zombie threat!

The supporting characters are mostly forgettable and of course the Vegas mission goes awry quickly. The film has elements of Ocean’s 11: the millionaire may not be telling them everything they need to know, double crossings ensue, and of course a master thief is needed to decode the vault.

There are some nice changes to the typical zombie tropes. The zombies form a sort of hierarchy within the walled-off Vegas, with the original zombie acting as “king” and showing emotion for his impregnated zombie queen. The further removed from the original zombie an infected person is, the less intelligent and more primal that person seems to become.

The film is a perfectly fine Saturday diversion, but it doesn’t break any new ground. It’s Dawn of the Dead meets Oceans 11 with a bit less intelligence than either. I found myself checking my watch a few times during the final thirty minutes, perhaps because I’ve seen so many of these films. Of course the film ends with a helicopter escape and a big explosion. Of course.

That said, if you haven’t seen many zombie or heist films, this is a perfectly acceptable introduction. Some of the action sequences are stunning and the film does provide a good sense of fun, even when its human characters are getting chomped up.