The Suicide Squad

 

9.5/10

In this sorta sequel/sorta reboot to 2016's Suicide Squad (yeah, I don't know why they didn't just use a subtitle to differentiate the two,) stone cold government operative Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis), sends Task Force X, a black ops team comprised mostly of arrested supervillains, to the island nation of Corto Maltese in order to take out a dangerous project it possesses.

This was just excellent viewing. It's directed and written by James Gunn, who did the Guardians of the Galaxy, and it really has that magic touch he had there but in an R-rated format. What unfolds is just a well-told tale that combines dark humor and quirky characters who become surprisingly relatable for a bunch of crooks. Really, this feels like a love letter to DC Comics' B- through C-list villains, basically characters you'd never think would make the live action theatrical films. Of all the MCU directors/screenwriters, Gunn probably played the most fast and loose when it came to consistency with characters' comics origins. He does this again to perhaps better affect, as he takes characters that don't have a fan base, so he can change their history or other aspects in order to create more moving backstories or interesting characteristics.     

Gunn definitely improves upon the first Suicide Squad movie. (Yeah, yeah, I know that one suffered from heavy studio interference and a director's cut would most likely be stronger, but director David Ayer is a victim of his constrictive "make it about the streets" wheelhouse and stuff like gangster Joker and stereotypically black Killer Croc are on him). This movie is probably a relief to fans of the original comics. None of that "the team is created to take down a Superman-level threat when a lot of them aren't capable of that" plot hole. The team's going back to it's original purpose: doing secret "suicide missions" where the government can't officially be. Infiltrating a Latin American country is exactly the kind of storyline I expected and wanted. This movie does a better job of keeping you guessing as to who'll live or die (a staple of the comic). Also, this movie features Amanda Waller's support crew, a staple of Ostrander's seminal run. They add a little bit of humor and more of a human element to contrast with Waller's cold approach.     

This movie also doesn't make you care that a couple elements are recycled from the last film: a certain villain type and the fact that the mercenary Bloodsport (Idris Elba) has a daughter, just like the mercenary Deadshot in the last film. I excuse the whole daughter reuse thing because it's done a lot better here and Elba does a greater job than Will Smith, and that's not a knock to Will Smith, he was good in the last one. (Also, in regards to the redo, the grapevine is that the role was originally written for Deadshot, but Smith was unavailable and they decided not to recast the character in case Smith returned for a future project.) 

The Suicide Squad definitely earns it's R rating. Action and violence fans will appreciate the extents Gunn goes to. However, he also knows less is more, it's paced pretty well, never feeling like overkill. 

Visually this whole thing looks good with one playfully dark scene that will particularly stick in your mind. Costumes and appearances fit the comics while working well in live action. (I'm especially impressed they managed to make Peacemaker's costume, a design that screams "I was created in the sixties and am not practical, work.) Harley has her best outfits in this. 

The movie does a remarkably fantastic job of juggling a huge cast, letting all the characters have a chance to shine. Though, there are two parts in this that felt like a scene got cut, but they're minor situations and not dealbreakers. 

Really great cast. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to go into all the characters here. Gotta say the Peacemaker (John Cena), a soldier who kills A LOT in the name of peace, is my favorite of the new faces. Harley Quinn's scenes and Robbie's performance is/are the best to date. If you're afraid of the character being overused, it isn't yet. I know a lot of people are loving King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), sort of the Groot of this film, but personally, I think he may be the weakest element. I know he's fun, but what with his limited vocabulary and goals, I find him the least interesting and he takes up time that could've been better used elsewhere.

Highly recommended, unless you're just not a fan of R-rated movies or antiheroes in general. Gunn brings two hours and twelve minutes of just well-crafted cinema. If you didn't like the first one, you should still give this a shot.

Free Guy

 

8/10

In Free Guy, the titular Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds) is an NPC (non-playable character) in a Grand Theft Auto-esque sandbox game where he and his kind don't realize they are video game characters and the players rule the land bringing constant destruction. Guy starts to change and goes outside his daily routine when he becomes infatuated with player Molotov Girl (Killing Eve's Jodie Comer).  

The story to this turned out to be a lot better than the commercials would have you think. I'm not saying this is a perfect movie, but there's an unexpected depth to this supposedly light comedy, particularly in the third act. There is a surprising amount of character work and effort put into the human world side of things. The world building for the video game is pretty well thought out and inventive at times. The movie manages to pay homage to sandbox games while giving the story room to breathe. (Congratulations to director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum/The Pink Panther remake/Real Steel) for making a comeback after not having directed a theatrical film since 2014).   

The humor can be hit-and-miss. There are a few pretty funny moments, but this is one of those films that work more based on it's general good-nature feel than a lot of memorable moments. I think the movie does suffer from giving Guy and his best friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), especially Buddy, I mean like rapid fire. It can be a little exhausting at times. (Especially Buddy! He won't stop with the jokes!) Also, Guy's crush at the beginning may feels a little too stalkerish and slightly uncomfortable.

Reynolds and Howery are both funny guys, and Reynolds in particular sells his character, but they also lean too much into the joke overload rather than reigning it in. 

Comer delivers a stronger performance than you'd guess from the trailers. The character has more going on than just being a love interest. Props should also be given to Taika Waititi as the villain, scummy, corporate bro Antoine. Again from the trailer, I feared he'd be a little one note, and yeah the character plays out kinda like you'd think, but Waititi brings an energy that makes the character work.  

Recommended, despite my criticisms this is an overall enjoyable and rather original film.

Loki- Season 1

Note: Contains a reference that may be considered a vague sorta spoiler if you haven't seen Avengers Endgame.

9/10

In Loki on Disney+, the events of Avengers Endgame have resulted in a separate timeline. This one's Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) is arrested by the TVA, time cops, for going against the timeline and finds himself recruited to fight a bigger foe.

This is a wondrously weird and creative show. Tt has kind of a Terry Gilliam feel to it. Loki finds himself running into several fantastical and intriguing situations and concepts. It's also kinda like WandaVision in that there are many mysteries and twists and turns. 

Although time authorities have been done before, the TVA manages to carve its own space. Admittedly, there are blatant comparisons to the time organization from The Umbrella Academy, especially since they both have anachronistic designs and dress codes. Still I think the two organizations do enough differently that the similarities aren't a deal killer.

Be forewarned that I didn't find the last episode as satisfying as I'd like. I didn't dislike it, but I feel there was room for improvement.

Unsurprisingly, this show titled Loki is mainly about Loki. The character has always been fun, but he always had to play second fiddle. Here the character gets to shine, and this turns out to be an incredibly strong character piece as the show goes into what makes Loki tick and his personal journey. I think we all know Loki has issues and damage, but I'm surprised how much introspection and pathos is in this. It's also kinda fun to see Loki, who's been selfish and usually pursuing his own goals and not having a lot of time to interact with people, thrown into other people's plans and conflicts and seeing him try to adapt to these situations. (Basically if you're tired of people falling for his tricks ALL the time, you'll be pleased with the change of pace here.) Hiddleston's performance has always been what made the character popular, and man does he really nail the character here but in a new way.

However, I think the show spends too much time on the title character than it really needs. You can only see Loki do Loki stuff and say Loki things for so long. The cast is smaller than WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which admittedly allows the story to be more focused, but I think the supporting characters could've had more to do. Loki's intelligence and strength does seem to vary drastically based on the situation. The show also has a nasty habit of putting Loki through the wringer, throwing heavy thing after heavy thing onto him, and it gets exhausting.

Going back to the characters, we've got some great casting. Owen Wilson is in this as TVA investigator Mobius and he brings a nice chain of pace from what he usually does. The character is a smart, level-headed, and nice guy, plus a solid foil for Loki. Mobius kind of serves as an audience surrogate, knowing all of Loki's tricks and exactly what makes him tick. The two of them got a good odd couple buddy cop thing going on.  

The show looks great. Of the recent MCU shows, this is the most theatrical looking. The show really outdid itself with all the different places Loki visits. The design for the TVA headquarters is really, really impressive (especially the exterior). Though, the low lighting and monotone color scheme of the place does get on my nerves a little. The costume design is also really good, again being pretty diverse.

Highly recommended. I did prefer Wandavision and F&tWS. The show doesn't feel quiiiiite as solidly put together and like I said it tries a little too hard to be dramatic. Could've lightened things up a little. Still, compared to a lot of the shows out there there, it's surpasses a lot of them. Very entertaining.

Jungle Cruise

 

8.5/10

In this new Disney movie base on the theme park attraction of the same name, archaeologist and explorer Lily Houghton (played by Emily Blunt) hires down-on-his-luck boat captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) to travel down a South American river in search of a legendary petal with miraculous healing capabilities.

This movie recycles stuff. Frank, Lily, and her brother MacGregor (played by Jack Whitehall) are pretty much the Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan characters from The Mummy. Lily's talented-woman-defying-the-old-timey-patriarchy character is very by-the-numbers. Plus, the supernatural villains in this really are the jungle equivalents of Davey Jones' fish-people crew from the second and third pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

That all having been said, this is still a very entertaining and well-made generic action story. I think that Disney tied to course correct from some of their past live action films (the PoC sequels, Tomorrowland, The Lone Ranger, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and John Carter), which felt too story heavy or taking themselves too seriously. Jungle Cruise adds more humor to the proceedings and really tries to be more of a family adventure. The script does a surprisingly good job of juggling the leads and two sets of villains without making the film feel bloated. The backstory is given a little more thought than expected, especially when it comes to the conquistador storyline.

For fans of the original ride, the movie manages to organically include references. A rather good idea is having Frank be a fan of bad jokes, making him a stand-in for the tour guides from the ride.  

This was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, whose filmography has mostly been horror or Liam Neeson action thrillers (seriously, like a lot of Neeson). This is his first attempt at a family film or a mega budget popcorn adventure, and he really pulls it off without a hitch. The editing can be a bit quick, but overall this is a very good-looking movie. Really captures the "classic jungle adventure" feel. 

Though playing predictable characters, the two leads deliver fine performances. (Spoiler alert: The Rock is charming.) Jesse Plemmons gives a great performance as the villain Prince Joachim. He plays a character who can both be comedic in his eccentricities but also manages to be a clever and capable foe. Really, acting's good all across the board here.

Highly recommended. The movie might be playing it safe, but it's lots of fun and feels the closest to recapturing the magic of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

F9: The Fast Saga

8/10

In F9, Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) and the gang must stop his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena) from gaining a technology that can bring the world to its knees.

The F&F movies since the third one have done a surprisingly good job of remaining consistently fun over the years. However, Fate of the Furious finally felt like the franchise had hit a plateau and was starting to run out of steam. However, I'm glad to say that this installment brings the magic back. (It probably doesn't hurt that Justin Lin, who helmed movies three through six is back.) The movie just defines popcorn action flicks, having a fun, over-the-top sense of action, including some new car-related gimmicks the series hasn't done before. 

I think the trio of Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) really shine in this one. Though I haven't been the biggest fan of Roman in each movie (especially not a fan of him in 2 Fast 2 Furious), he's great here as the comic relief. The movie pokes fun at how unrealistic everything is getting by having Roman start questioning the crazy outlandish situations the cast manages to survive through. He and Tej have wonderful back forth between each other, and Ramsey does a good job as the straight man (also I liked her new look in this.)

It does feel too late in the game to give Dom a brother, not to mention that the long-lost sibling trope is so worn out. Still, the backstory between Dom and Jakob is really engrossing. Jakob makes for a fine antagonist and Diesel really captures the raw emotion Dom has to portray when dealing with his brother and the past. The movie also manages to satisfyingly explain the brothers' backstory while working with the tidbits of Dom's past that were mentioned all the way back in the first movie. (I got to give it to this franchise, it does a surprisingly good job with continuity and and callbacks to past characters; F9 is no different.)    

The movie's secondary villain Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen), Jakob's partner-in-crime, is something the F&F series hasn't been done before, he's humorous. Otto's a spoiled rich kid who's kind of honest about what he is, and he's pretty fun. Cypher (Charlize Theron), the main villain from the last film returns. I find her dialogue, outfit and haircut were a step up this time. (The original style appearance didn't match the personality in my opinion.) However, she feels like a poor man's master criminal. The producers are trying to push her as the series' big bad, but she's missing a little something.

Recommended. If you liked most of the films in this franchise, you'll probably like this one.

Fear Street: Part One, 1994

8/10

Nowadays, R.L. Stine's name is synonymous with the children's horror series Goosebumps, which has been a dominant force in the industry for some decades. Though this is Stine's biggest hit, this isn't his first success. Before Goosebumps, he wrote the teen-focused horror series Fear Street. Though it didn't have the literary longevity of Goosebumps, FS was big during the nineties. Given Stine's fame after Goosebumps, I'm actually surprised it's taken this long for television or film to capitalize on his other brand.

Fear Street Part One on Netflix, is an interesting venture. It's the first in a film trilogy whose installments are all released in the same month. The format kind of makes sense considering that Fear Street would occasionally have trilogy subseries. In the movie, Deena (played by Kiana Madeira) is a teen in the town of Shadyside who runs afoul of the deadly curse that plagues it.

This movie goes for sort of a classic 80's/90's horror feel and I rather like it. For fans of horror violence, there are a couple of truly violent kills, including one particularly creative one. 

I was rather satisfied with the killer or killers. (I'll keep things vague since the trailer doesn't say much.)

On the other hand, the movie suffers from too much teen drama. I just feel that movies are overdoing it on the youths having hard times. I'm here to watch people run away from murderers. That's what I want. Plus, the movie suffers from a rival school that is super mean for absolutely no reason. Shadyside is supposed to be the "loser/ill-fated" town, and the movie leans on people mentioning this way too hard. Luckily, the worst of this in only the setup. The self-loathing subsides once the real threat starts.

All the actors playing the teens are of legal age, but are mostly pretty young and could pass for actual high schoolers. Their appearance makes things uncomfortable. The movie does not shy away from sexuality and the stripping of clothing. It looks like the underage are doing these acts.

The score has an old-school and overtly-dramatic score. Feels a little dated, but the music is strong.

Can't say this is the most memorable slasher ever made, but it's nice to have one of these these days and makes for a fine time waster.

Snake Eyes

8/10

Snake Eyes is a GI Joe spinoff movie (for a new reboot universe, not related to the last two films). It tells the origin of the titular ninja and GI Joe member (played by Henry Golding) and how he ends up being trained by a secret ninja clan.

The trailer seemed like a fairly basic action film to me, however, I'm pleased to say this was better than I expected. Now let me make it clear, in general the movie operates on a general storyline. It's not the best out there or too groundbreaking, but a lot more effort was put into the details than you'd expect. (I think the creators realized the biggest issues with the last two films was the scripts.) There is more effort given to characterization. Snake Eyes' journey has more going on than expected. Characterization and dialogue is surprisingly solid and there are a few good reveals and fun ideas, too. Not to mention that the big fight on the end, though your traditional finale battle, had more thought and planning given the action than expected. 

With the movie running at approximately two hours, I do admit that that the story could've been shortened. Fight scenes are few and far between, and I can see some viewers getting bored.

A lot of hardcore GI Joe fans won't be happy with the huge changes made to Snake Eyes. The whole thing that made him popular was that he was a mysterious guy, his face unseen and voice unheard, and had this distinctive ninja armor that had a visor for some reason. Now, the costume's barely in this and the mystery is completely gone. This does reek of the producers having a lack of faith in what made the character. If you're unable to get past this, there's really nothing about this movie I think can really convince you other wise. 

There is some surprisingly strong acting in this. There's a guy playing a Yakuza boss, who's got about one line of dialogue, but he puts such a crazy amount of effort into it. Henry Golding does a fine job puling off the lead, but the most credit needs to be given to Andrew Koji as Tommy, the man who recruits Snake Eyes into the ninja life. He delivers a truly emotionally complex character. 

Overall, this was an interesting film. I don't think you need to pay top dollar to watch it in the theater or at home, but when this movie gets less costly to watch, you should give this a try. It's definitely the best of the GI Joe movies. (Live-action. The animated film has the Joes fighting Cobra on jet packs and such over the Statue of Liberty with the GI Joe song playing. Nothing is going to match that.) I also felt it was better plotted than the kinda similar ninja action film The Wolverine.