Escape Plan- If you take out the hyper violence and gore out of Saw, you get this movie. What’s left is a surprisingly fun watch. You see the trailer and it’s impossible not to make the comparison. Instead of being kidnapped, the group of people here are brought together under the guise of being invited to win money by figuring out the world’s most difficult escape room. Then in typical murder mystery fashion they start making connections that they weren’t randomly chosen for this and the world building of who is doing this and why comes together at the end to set up a sequel or two. Making a PG-13 Saw movie is a pretty safe bet when it comes down to getting funding for a Hollywood movie. Even if it is far from original, it’s well made and it got the budget needed to do the script justice. The cast is good, the direction is solid, and the production design is really impressive. The entire movie takes place almost entirely in just a few “puzzle” rooms and they are all hyper detailed, unique, and are really the stars of the show. I’d say this is a good movie to watch on a rainy day and you just want to take it easy.

Jungle- I watched this because Daniel Radcliffe is in it and he’s great in basically everything. Based on the true survivor story of Jossi Ghinsberg, Radcliffe plays Jossi, a young man traveling the world as he figures out what he wants to do in life. When the movie starts he’s been on the road for months, been in many places around the world and makes a new friend named Kevin in Bolivia. The two run into Marcus, whom Kevin knows from his own journey around the world. Together they meet Karl, who says he can bring them to a remote Indian village in the jungle that basically no one in the outside world has seen and Jossi is all about going. He doesn’t want to do touristy stuff and this is the perfect chance to go on a real adventure. The others soon agree and a few days into the trip, it’s clear they’ve made a mistake following Karl. Jossi gets put through the ringer and you are with him every step of the way. Well made survival movie as great care was done to make each brutal step feel like it’s own unique challenge instead of one long montage of misery.

Glass- I loved Unbreakable when it came out and M. Night Shyamalan turning that one off into the start of a trilogy all these many years later has been a lot of fun to watch. Split was a wild romp with the great James McAvoy as the twists and turns of his character with 24 personalities unraveled on screen. I think the ideas in Glass bring it all to a really creative and enjoyable head with McAvoy returning as the monster, Samuel L. Jackson as the manipulator, and Bruce Willis as the super hero. With so many comic book movies coming out, it’s a real treat watching one that paints outside the lines. Shymalan is a big fan of comics and he gets to do his own thing while paying a lot of homage to the industry here. It’s light on action but no worse off for it. The character work is great and I really liked the reveal at the end. I’d recommend watching the first two movies if you haven’t to get the full enjoyment out of this one.

Captain Marvel- This is what you’d call a cookie cutter Marvel movie. No surprises in this comic book movie. It’s not that it’s bad, just kinda…there. It certainly looks good, the special effects doing their part to make the fantasy elements look real. But acting-wise, it falls short. Samuel L. Jackson is his charming self, happily glowing and sashaying through all his scenes. Brie Larson as the title character more or less sleepwalks her way through this. Most of the time it doesn’t seem like she’s having fun on set. She’s monotone through the whole movie until the last act where Carol Danvers shows some kind of personality. Everyone else felt pretty forgettable to me too. In the Marvel library, I think this is going to be a one and done for me (along with Black Panther and the first 2 Thor movies).

The end of the summer months means the TV schedule is pretty light so that gave me room to catch a few movies. Netflix keeps rolling out the hits and the fall TV season is starting soon so that means movies will be put on the back burner. Let’s get to it.

If Beale Street Could Talk- A beautiful but heartbreaking film. It’s the early 1970s New York City and 19 year old Tish and her 22 year old boyfriend, Fonny, are madly in love. One day Fonny is wrongly accused of a terrible crime and detained. While waiting for trial Tish tries everything to get him free while preparing for their first child to be born. Exceptional acting and cinematography bring this love story to poetic life but there are some strange decisions in the presentation. This half love story and half political/social justice strife tale is stitched together with stage production and voice over narration. Whenever the switch happened it took me right out of the movie and I lost interest. It feels like the movie abruptly changes genres (mediums, really) with melodramatic lighting and character exposition. Oddly awkward moments that mar an otherwise great movie.

Alita: Battle Angel– This turned out to be way more fun than I thought it was going to. Based on decades old manga series, director Robert Rodriquez helms this action fiesta. Alita is a cyborg that was found in a dump and revived by Dr. Dyso Ido. With her memory wiped, she comes to learn who she was and who she is as she gets tangled up with cyborg assassins and the mega corporation that runs Iron City. They used the Avatar motion capture technology to make this movie and as a result the visuals are amazing. Some of the best CGI around makes for some fantastic anime-action come to life. Alita is a lot of fun to follow around, there’s some neat world building that sets the stage for a lot more that I hope we’ll someday get to see. As far as action movies go, this is one of the best in a many years. Plus it’s a brand new world for Hollywood to explore so that makes it stand out more. Nothing else looks like this.

Creed II- I loved the first movie and this absolutely a worthy sequel. Adonis Creed is the heavyweight champion and as such he must defend his belt. From the other side of the planet comes his biggest threat–Viktor Drago–the son of Ivan Drago. While Rocky’s career went skyward after their astonishing fight in the 80s, Ivan went home a failure and his boxing career basically ended on the spot. Now, Ivan has been training his son to go win the success he never did by taking on the son of the man he killed in the ring 30 years ago. The challenge comes to Adonis as a sense of pride and revenge, how can he turn down a fight with this kind of legacy on the line? When Rocky steps away, wanting nothing to do with petty revenge, possibly repeating history that’s haunted him all this time, Adonis looks elsewhere for a new cornerman. A great movie on many levels, Dolph Lundren returns as Ivan and the guy they found to play Viktor, Florian Munteanu, is a hulk of a human being. He and Michael B. Jordan standing toe to toe perfectly mirrors the 1985 American movie classic, Rocky IV. While you can predict almost everything as it comes, it doesn’t keep this movie from being a great experience. I can’t see any Rocky fan not liking this picture.

When the people around you are involved in crime, it seats you next to them in the life raft, whether you know what they are doing or not. Being an accomplice or guilty by association can have the same amount of blowback, just from different sides of the law. In Widows, four women are left with the debt their dead husbands left behind after a heist goes wrong. They are forced to fight for the future when the most dangerous people in Chicago come to get their money back.

Heist movies are a lot of fun and when they are done right, it’s some of the best storytelling around. Widows is one of those movies. It’s a smart and believable film with a cast of three-dimensional characters led by the powerhouse, Viola Davis (Veronica).

Veronica, Linda, Alice, and Amanda don’t know each other, but their husbands do. The trouble comes to these women when the men are all killed stealing $2 million from Jamal Manning, a man with deep ties to the criminal underground and growing ties to the political world of the city. With the men dead, it opens a new dangerous void. Linda’s business is taken from her, Amanda is left as a single mother, and Alice is left adrift having been dependent on her husband’s cash flow. When Jamal comes to Veronica, threating her for the money–which was destroyed in the heist–Veronica is forced to take charge and put a plan into motion. Her husband, Harry, was the leader of the group[ and planned all of their work. He kept detailed notes and she finds them, detailing a $5 million payday. She contacts the other women and the layers of the story build and unfold from there.

The pacing of Widows is remarkably done. Not just in terms of plot points and progression, but with character traits. Each scene seeds what happens next, small character details and actions that don’t seem to be important come back to make a big difference. I also like that the women are all normal, there are no superheroes or highly trained professionals fixing things. They come from different backgrounds and are at very different points of life. The thrills come from watching these characters work their own angles, using their own talents to make the heist happen. No one stands still in the story, they are all important. When problems come up, when ideas don’t work, it ratchets up the fun and excitement perfectly. The crisis level never gets outlandish.

It’s a very believable move too, enough is done to make everything plausible. A lot of world-building is done in a short amount of time and it all feels natural. This great script comes to life with the fantastic direction of Steve McQueen. The camera placements and movements are carefully and artfully done. All the detail of the story isn’t told in dialog, it’s subtly expressed with the scenery. My favorite shot is the one after the press conference in the projects with Jack Mulligan. He does all of his talking points about his small business initiative and then flees in a town car after a reporter pressures him on some of his scandals. The camera is placed on the hood of the car, pointed to the left, towards the windshield so we can see everyone standing in this dilapidated block as Jack gets in. The car drives away from the projects and the characters talk in the backseat in one complete take. We never see them talk, just voice over. As a powerful man whines about his political world, the environment changes. In about two minutes, the borders of a few tax brackets are crossed. The camera has panned to the right, the car stops in front of a big beautiful home, Jack stops ranting, and he exits the car.

I wish I had seen Widows sooner, I completely missed it when it came out. Easily one of the best movies of 2018.

I’ve done some movie watching. It went alright.

Robin Hood (2018)- I like the story of Robin Hood. I think most people do, it’s been around for a long time. Rob from the rich and give to the poor. If you’re going to crime it up, giving back takes the edge off of it for most it. It’s rather noble. Every once and awhile Robin Hood comes back to the film world with an attempt to twist the knob a bit to make it another story worth repeating. All the staples are present and account for: Robin of Loxley, Little John, Friar Tuck, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Marian. The story also starts strong with Robin being introduced as a playboy, having a good time living it up with a family name attached to wealth and status. Things are going great with his lady Marian, when he gets drafted into the war. The good times are over as he’s put through the wringer on the battlefield. After trying to stop a war crime he’s shipped back home to discover that everyone thinks he’s been dead for years and his family estate has been absorbed by the Sheriff for the war effort.

At this point I’m all in, I like Robin he’s a good dude, John becomes an ally for change and the Sheriff is a well-established crumb bum. And then the movie becomes less interesting as it falls into the well established Hollywood script mold. All the beats are predictable, right down to an (unnecessary) training montage. It’s not that anything is truly bad, it’s a well produced movie, but nothing new is brought to the table. My biggest complaint is with the action. It feels way too modern, way to slick and overproduced. It gets so over the top that the visuals stop being grounded. I guess it’s just the nature of where action movies are today, the competition is off the charts. If you don’t try to do anything mind-boggling no one will pay any attention to you. At one point during an elaborate escape sequence, things are blowing up for no reason. There are these gigantic columns of fire repeatedly shooting out of nowhere as if they are running from Pompeii erupting. They’re all coming out from behind large castle pillars so it looks like obvious camouflage. These gasoline-powered mortars are stuffed all over the place waiting to be triggered like it’s a KISS concert. It looks stupid and is more distracting than anything else. Michael Bay fatigue is a real thing and should be avoided (but what do I know, the insanity of the Fast and Furious franchise makes a fortune). If you skip this I don’t think you’ll miss anything.

The Mule– I couldn’t get over how stupid this movie is to enjoy it. Clint Eastwood plays Earl Stone, a 90-year-old horticulturist (yes you read that right) who runs drugs across the border for a Mexican cartel. On the surface that makes sense, Earl doesn’t fit the profile of a drug mule so he’s perfect to travel around without getting stopped. As a flower guy getting pushed out of business by the internet (shakes a fist at technology!), Earl’s monetary savings aren’t what you’d call positive so he fits the mark of “I really need money.” The fast cash would be attractive to him (which is why anyone sells drugs).

But why did I watch Clint Eastwood do his best impression of Mr. Magoo? I don’t want to see that! Does anyone? Earl aw-schucks his way through almost every encounter so painfully (and that includes 2 (TWO!) threesomes!) that this is one of the cringiest movies I’ve seen in years. Earl is so naive (until the exact moment he doesn’t need to be) and one dimensional that it’s hard to take anything seriously. His biggest regret that is pounded into you with nearly no exploration is that he was a bad father and husband. He’s not mean or obnoxious (when he tells his ex-wife his flowers were more important than his family–with no semblance of rationale–I almost jumped out of my skin) that’s just how he is because he’s old and doesn’t know any better. Everything so revolves around his age that it seems like the writer’s main goal was to ham-fist a message of the elderly shouldn’t be ignored or left behind, they can still contribute. Except the main character for this message is a joke.

He’s old! He doesn’t know how to use a cell phone! He’s old! Why would he know what the guys with the guns could be putting into his trunk for a ton of cash? He’s old! So he wouldn’t waste a tenth of a second to question a thing when he does end up looking! Watch as he drives around slinging casual racism for no reason because he’s old and doesn’t know why anyone would have a problem with what he says! He’s so innocent and squishy (read: old) looking he makes friends with everyone! In the end, he’s a good guy, no matter what. Woof.

Bohemian Rhapsody– A.K.A the Freddie Mercury show. This movie isn’t a documentary, Freddie was the frontman for Queen and did get all the attention in real life. That’s important to think about, watching this ultra condensed story, so I can see why they’d take the approach they did. And let’s be real, this movie would have died before it hit the screens if it wasn’t for Rami Malek. He absolutely kills it as Freddie Mercury. He’s one of my favorite actors and he absolutely transforms in this movie.

This is a great movie that feels held back. Each moment feels a bit too perfect, too concise, too sanitized. The band Queen comes together really fast. No struggle is shown as it comes off like they blew up in about a week. Songs are shown being put together at lightning speed. Freddie’s personal struggles are stepped on for mere moments before moving on. I guess pacing is my biggest problem.

A two hour+ long movie isn’t short and in the end, I wanted to see more. I would be perfectly happy to have ditched the remake of Queen’s 1985 Live Aid show for more story. That would have freed up I think 15 minutes or so. I wanted to see the band interact more, watch Freddie navigate more of his personal and professional relationships. The best parts for me was when they were dealing with pressure and their personalities pulling at them (Freddie’s house party is probably the highlight of the movie there, that scene at the best character developments). Sure, we see the band argue about decisions here and there but it’s so fast and spotty it always came off as rudimentary and cleaned up. Why not show their inspirations, how did they write this music that’s stuck with people for 40 years now? Freddie was at ground zero for the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, why not better show how the world reacted and addressed it? We’re still going through that (and more) today. I liked seeing Freddie with his family and ther were very few scenes with them. A lot (character) came out of the scene where the band meets Freddie’s family for the first time and they got the call they were signed to a record label. There must have been more moments like that to show.

I guess more than anything, Bohemian Rhapsody made me want to dig deeper into history. That’s not a bad thing to be left with.

Look how cool that poster is! The whole movie is just as fun and exciting. The short review: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the best animation films of the decade.

The cinematic debut of Miles Morales, Spider-Verse is about this young man’s journey into great power and responsibility. Miles is just a kid at the start of a new boarding school in the city. Smart and talented in art, Miles has a lot to figure out. His police officer father wants him laser–focused on school while his Uncle Aaron lets him indulge more on his creative side. When Miles gets caught up in a dangerous plot being run by Kingpin, Miles’ life takes an unexpected turn.

The movie doesn’t take long to kick off with Miles being forced to take over as Spider-Man to try and stop Kingpin from doing unbelievable amounts of damage by messing with other dimensions of reality. This scheme brings five other Spider-People into Miles world and where the original Peter Parker left off, the others mentor him to become a greater person than he ever imagined he could be. There are a lot of trials and tribulations along the way.

Spider-Verse is a stunning achievement in animation. New animation techniques, a mish-mash of styles, and all the colors known to mankind are utilized to make one of the most unique looking movies I’ve ever seen. Words can’t explain how crazy this movie looks. Great character designs, a solid voice cast, and a snappy script make this a treat to watch from start to finish.

There’s very little to knock here and I have to really nitpick to come up with anything: Miles is clumsy through the entire movie until a switch suddenly flips and becomes unstoppable. The ramp-up to become confident and comfortable in his skin (so to speak) could have been done a little better. The way he gets the powers is also devoid of any creativity. Sure, there’s only one way to get the spider powers (Peni Parker’s backstory actually does a great twist on it) but this spider (which I think is mechanical, not biological?) just seemingly walks from Kingpin’s dimension collider on a mission to specifically bite Miles, which it seemingly knew when he’d be down in the sewers.

Still, none of that makes a significant dent in how great Spider-Verse is. Miles is awesome, the way all of these deep cut comic book Spider characters come together and the action scenes are fantastic. Everything you want from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is here.

An adventure above and below the ocean’s surface, Aquaman is one of the best DC films made to date. Jason Momoa first portrayed the character in Justice League and the wait to see him really strut his stuff was well worth it.

Aquaman is a pretty goofy character on paper, after all, he can talk to fish. There have been many good comic book runs for him over the decades and there’s a reason why he’s a longtime member of the Justice League: the guys a hero. It’s been a long time coming for Arthur Curry to get his own movie and the technology to make his world believable is here alongside director James Wan to give it much needed flair. Aquaman runs the fine line of being weird but not too over the top and serious without taking itself too seriously.

I think this movie succeeds in all the right areas. The introduction to the main character’s background is well done and paced well. Half human and half Atlantian Arthur grows up without his Atlantian mother because she broke the rules running from Atlantis and falling in love with a man from the surface. She must leave her young family to keep them safe and when Arthur finds out she was executed for her “crimes” he becomes bitter to the world. Not to say he doesn’t succeed and grow up with his father but it makes a lasting mark on his psyche. While he does accept training from an Atlantian named Vulko when he discovers he has extraordinary powers, Arthur is pretty reserved when it comes to helping others. He’s not one for the spotlight despite his boisterous personality. And then Atlantis comes knocking on Arthur’s door when a war on the surface is called by his half-brother King Orm. Having sworn off having anything to do with Atlantis, as heir to the throne Arthur is forced to act.

And the globe trotting adventure begins! An eye popping film, Aquaman is vibrant and beautiful in every scene. James Wan dances with the camera during action scenes and I lost count of how many stunning poster quality shots there are. There are some sections that look like they were torn right out of a comic book. Seeing Black Manta in his full comic book outfit fighting Aquaman in real life was an absolute trip.

This movie could have been a complete disaster if the SFX were done poorly. Plenty of time for pre and post production was clearly given as I can’t complain about any of it. The underwater visuals are done fantastic and that’s about half of the movie. There are some odd looking things here and there but for me that’s nitpicking. I believed what I was watching and that’s all I need.

I feel like this movie was the perfect length, even if parts of it feel rushed. There’s a lot of quick setups just to get to the next scene and how Arthur and Mera travel the world with seemingly no resources is never considered. But I liked the overall story arc, watching Arthur basically grow to become a hero for everybody. When he dons the classic yellow and green suit it feels earned and amazing. I think my only big knock on the movie is the odd music choices that don’t fit the mood or the action of the movie.

Aquaman is a great example of getting the right people on a project. A lot of love and care was put into making this and it shows on screen.

With this third film, the John Wick franchise continues to be the best American action film series, hand down. While there are a few contenders for the crown (the last Mission: Impossible comes to mind) the level of creativity and execution is nearly unmatched.

The first John Wick released in 2014 and took everybody by surprise, I don’t think many people even knew it was being made while in production. Until then, Keanu Reeves action resume basically revolved around the Matrix series where we all saw his level of dedication (along with the rest of the cast) to fight prep. The Wick series is his continuation of that crazy work ethic. Gunplay far beyond what we saw in the Matrix movies married with intricute fight choregraphy and brilliant stunt work filmed from a distance with long takes. Usually you have to turn to Hong Kong cinema to see that. We all rejoiced to see John Wick get revenge on the punks who killed his dog.

While I’m in the middle of the road for part 2 (I think the original is a better watch) Parabellum is a sight to behold. The plot, John Wick desperately trying to survive a massive bounty on his head after killing a high ranking assassin on sacred ground in part 2, is just there to stitch the action scenes together.

And these action scenes are nuts. Right away, we are treated to a monstrous one on one fight in a library. It just explodes from there, with the first half hour of the movie being almost entirely action. Fights with I think every kind of weapon in existence. Small fights with one or two people, huge fights with waves of baddies and everything in between. Different locales all gorgeously lit and framed. The dance of violence in this movie hasn’t been done since The Raid and The Raid 2 (and the first two John Wick movies).

I’ve seen a ton of action movies so I thought I’d seen it all until Sofia (the fantastic Halle Berry) hits the scene with her two trained German Shepard attack dogs. I think the fight scene with those dogs is somewhere around 8 minutes long and I have no idea how they did it. I mean they had these dogs doing insane stunts, mauling dudes left and right like they were made of Snausages. Some of the most riveting action and stunts I’ve ever seen.

Odds are if you are into action movies, you’ve already scene this so I’m preaching to the choir. This whole thing is just a long way of me saying I love Keanu Reeves and I love John Wick.