Checked out Brave New World over the weekend. Probably the most blatantly hacked apart, stitched back together with heavy reshoots an MCU movie has ever been. I wonder if that is why the film is also so toothless, constantly pointing at problems but refusing to ever actually say anything.
Rubbish villains. Nonsensical plotting. Suffocated narrative by all the obligations to reference the canon. So many "shot in a cupboard" looking sequences. So many flat, blurry, greenscreens.
The action scenes are actually pretty good throughout, but they're good in that straight to streaming action vehicle Netflix drops on their platform once a month, kind of way. This cost three or four times one of those allegedly, yet I cannot see a single extra penny on the screen.
You'll watch this if you care about the MCU at all out of obligation at this point, because one day this will probably be referenced in some far off TV show or movie and you want to be ready, but beyond that there is really no reason to watch this at all.
Presence - Directed and filmed by Steven Soderbergh, screenplay by the prolific David Koepp.
A brilliant family drama with a supernatural twist, anchored by strong performances and a storytelling mechanism that elevates the emotional stakes. For me, this is peak Soderbergh, when his natural indie spirit is most free to utilize film in creative ways in order to tell the story. This thing rips by at a brisk 80ish minutes, going to some intensely dark places along the way; not for the faint of heart but worth the black eye if not simply for the discussion it may spark. Heartily recommended.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Jimmer-jammer I love Soderbergh and this one I felt cheated out of seeing on the big screen as it was running for one night only and I had an appointment I couldn't move that night. Happy to hear that it's good! It's not available on digital here yet, but hopefully it's not too far off. Did you see Black Bag?
@FuriousMachine Ah that’s a shame. Would have been a great experience on the big screen. The house it takes place in is an incredible backdrop and Soderbergh moves around it with ease using a mirrorless/Ronin setup. Just a forewarning, I see it’s been marketed as a horror film but I really wouldn’t label it as such and wouldn’t recommend going into it expecting that. I haven’t seen Black Bag yet but it’s definitely on the list!!
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Jimmer-jammer Yeah, I've heard that elsewhere too, re.: it not really being a horror movie despite marketing wanting us to think so.
For Black Bag, I thought I had a ticket to a cinema screening, but it was some kind of weird mistake. When I bought the ticket, the page for the movie on the cinema chain's website was clearly just a placeholder with only the movie title and Soderbergh listed as director. No poster, a listed runtime of 1 minute, no cast, no details. This is not uncommon for coming attractions that have received a release date weeks and months in the future, but when the time comes that the tickets actually are for sale, they have updated the info. I thought this was weird, but booked a ticket nonetheless. The day before the screening I went back to the site because I didn't remember the exact day and the movie was nowhere to be found. I checked the ticket in my app and that now said "Black Dog", which did have a screening the next day. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed.
So, that's another one I'm looking forward to coming to VOD or PVOD. I hear it's a taut spy drama with great actors (if you're not familiar, Michael Fassbender plays a spy who've received a list of five colleagues his supervisors suspects of being a mole and tasked with finding out who. On top the list is his wife, played by Cate Blanchett).
@FuriousMachine That’s quite a series of unfortunate events, though in a world in which Missionary: Impossible exists, I suppose there could have been a far more embarrassing mixup!
Fassbender and Blanchett are both incredible actors, so at the very least we should be in for some stellar performance work 😄
Friendly reminder to all my "Predator" friends (not to be confused with my "predatory friends") that Predator: Killer of Killers, the animated anthology from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, is out on Disney+ in most markets today (Hulu elsewhere). It's got some seriously good buzz and hopefully I'll be able to see it some time this weekend. (With "Summer Game Fest", WRC Rally Sardegna, Ballerina in the theaters (I'm going tomorrow), there's a lot to watch and do, but Sunday's looking good).
I would love to see all your impressions if and when you see it
Very good. Completely over the top, of course, and yet everything you could hope it would be.
There is talk of a new Wick movie. But in a way, I hope it does not happen. I hope they do not bring the Baba Yaga back from the dead. His story is finished, and the ending to 4 was perfect, and so to completely undo that would be such a shame.
@Matthewnh Sweet, I'm really looking forward to it! When I saw Ana DeArmas in action mode in No Time to Die, I immediately wanted more, so when they announced that she would star in a spin-off of my favourite action franchise, I could hardly wait. And now the day has come
I was a bit wary about Len Wiseman, though, as he cannot be accused of being anything more than a workmanlike journeyman, but sometimes a movie transcends the skills of the director (see also: "Donnie Darko", "Equilibrium")
I do agree with you regarding Mr. Wick himself, but I think they've pretty much confirmed JW5 is on the way (along with a new TV series and an animated prequel). Stahelski said that 5 will not be a continuation of the "High Table" storyline, that one is done, but he claims to have figured out a good way to move forward. More info in this Variety article. I'm cautiously optimistic
Ballerina did not disappoint, not even with my high expectations. It was never going to reach the levels of John Wick 4, but it got pretty damn close, in my book.
I was ready to eat my words about Len Wiseman's skills as a director, but then I found out that Stahelski most likely salvaged the movie through extensive reshoots and made it feel more like a John Wick adjacent movie. Mission accomplished!
This movie should sit well with any John Wick fan who isn't afraid of movies with strong, badass women in them
EDIT: Unfortunately, the box office suggests that there aren't that many who are comfortable with female action heroes (see also: "Furiosa") 😕
Watched Sinners last night and was actually a bit disappointed tbh. I think the movie itself is fine (I’d probably rate it a solid 7) but nowhere near as good as the general consensus would have you believe. Incredibly formulaic and predictable… I literally called everything that happened. It is still stylishly made though, with a good cast and one truly great and very creative scene. Gutted as the missus and I were expecting something very special.
@graymamba The sequel was good, too, I think. Bernthal predictably steals it.
I loved "Sinners", but I wasn't expecting anything other than a Ryan Coogler vampire movie and that was exactly what I got 🙂
The Accountant 2 (or should be ²) was alright to be honest. Like the first one, it’s a solid action movie that doesn’t really do anything particularly special but is carried by Affleck and Bernthal’s chemistry. I should probably have watched something in my backlog but eh, it’s on Prime.
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