Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Accounting From SUNY New Paltz | Guest Appearing on Areas of Interest: A College Podcast
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) | Spoiler Review
Seriously, spoilers. Also, thank you to my friends Louis and Matt for previewing this review. Please check out Matt's podcast, Saturday Morning Confidential, which takes a deep dive into nostalgic properties.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, villains from other universes get sucked into the MCU, after Peter Parker (Tom Holland) enlists the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to re-conceal his identity as Spider-Man and the spell goes wrong. The movie also stars, among others who'll be discussed, Zendaya (MJ), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds, "Guy in the Chair"), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jamie Foxx (Electro), and Alfred Molina (Doc Ock). Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, and Jon Watts, return from Far From Home to, respectively, write and direct.
Jon Watts also directed Homecoming, and he's proven himself to juggle the demands of bigger and bigger blockbusters...to a point. He, and Sony and Marvel execs, didn't deliver a perfect movie, but this could've gone wrong a hundred different ways. It just went wrong a few ways. So, while the majority of fans are praising this movie from the top of the Chrysler or Empire State Building, known hangout spots of Spider-Men, let's address the issues now. They're the action and some of the villains.
With the exception of Into The Spider-Verse action in Spider-Man movies still has not been topped by the train scene way back in Spider-Man 2. Up until now, I used to think the sole reason why is that Sam Raimi and his crew thought of every possible maneuver Maguire's Spider-Man, or any Spider-Man, and Doc Ock could throw at each other at any given moment and left nothing on the table. That's all you need if your fight scene is staying on the page, but No Way Home made me realize that how every possible maneuver was staged and shot truly is what it's all about. It's not about visual effects, although that's a huge factor, it's filmmaking 101. Rather, it's advanced visual filmmaking, something that people have said that Marvel Studios brushes aside to instead focus on things like the characters, story, and humor of the universe. There's evidence to support these claims. If you don't want to watch that video because it's a bit illusion shattering, I can simplify things a little.
Action movies need to stop setting their action scenes at nighttime, and producers and directors need to add more color to their movies, like these people did for them. This isn't always a problem, like in Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok, but it's a weakness in the visuals that leads to seeing different kinds of weaknesses in the visuals. Some parts of Thor Ragnarok, at least to me, look they were quickly shot from just one angle on a soundstage. The environments of those particular scenes were stylized, but it's still a problem. Suddenly, it's done during a living room scene, and something just feels off. It becomes a repeated problem until it's not seen as a problem anymore. It may be seen as lacking, but accepted. Other people can go more in-depth when it comes to these production issues and the practical reasons why they happen, so let's go back to No Way Home as the main example.
The action in this movie has the most weight when it's stripped down and raw. Yes, that's appropriate, but those fun scenes should have something like that weight too. Holland's web swinging finally does, when it's shown in the daylight, but his webbing people up, less so. Luckily, he starts throwing punches, hard punches, a lot of them, and for a heartbreaking reason.
The Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), kills this universe's Aunt May during a battle with Spider-Man, and Spider-Man nearly responds in kind. It feels brutal, as an onslaught of pain is brought upon Goblin. They begin out of fear of what Norman may do, and then they come from vengeance. Those punches are coupled with a great performance from Holland. He's never been better in this role, as Peter is put through the trials of what people are basically calling his official origin movie. His quieter moments are played more understated than ever, as this version of the character has faced, arguably, more loss and has become more beaten down by life than his two counterparts. But one of the character's greatest strength, across universes, is helping others find their strength and resolve. So, let's talk about more bad guys.
So, the returning roster of big baddies also includes Thomas Hayden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman and Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard. At least, I think it was them. Sandman is all sand until the very end of the movie, and similar can be said about The Lizard. I wasn't completely certain it was Ifans voice. Maybe they weren't interested in returning fully, maybe there were scheduling issues, or maybe it was because of Covid. Whatever the case, all understandable, it's noticeably felt. Flint Marko's deal basically is that he just steals to live, he's not homicidal or anything like that, and he wants to go back to see his kid. He's sensible. This movie's deal is that Peter is trying to save and cure the villains because everyone deserves a second chance. Of course, not all of them are going to be okay with that, but Sandman should be. They set it up in a way where he doesn't really trust the people trying to help him, but again, he should be more sensible than how he's presented. And Lizard, stuck in his transformed state, just doesn't think straight. It's...fine. Maybe it's better than spreading everyone out and too thin, which these movies always risk doing. Plus Church and Ifans got full enough characters the first time around. Jamie Foxx's Electro, on the other hand, didn't.
As a refresher, he was just stereotypical nerd, and a Spider-Man fanboy, then he feels slighted by the wall-crawler after a misunderstanding. He's not given a full story arc or anything like that, but Electro's desire to been seen and have power is carried over well from his previous movie. With an arc reactor, he has that chance. Quick sidebar, we all thought we weren't going to hear that sound again, didn't we? Anyway, it helps immensely that Foxx doesn't have to act under as much makeup this time. He must've been promised the chance to really have fun with the role, and he took them up on it. Andrew Garfield definitely did that, and so did J.K Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. We should touch on J.J for a second, before discussing my favorite actor. Not my favorite actor in this movie, my favorite actor period.
I really wish they didn't go the Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist route with the character. This isn't Raimi's Jonah, but it still feels like character assassination. He can serve the same purpose in this story by just having Spider-Man be his one blindspot when it comes to behaving like a real journalist. Simmons has no issue with the new approach, though, and he gleefully hocks Bugle-branded supplements on the air.
So, I checked what people were saying after the movie, and people did note how it addresses where Garfield's movies fall short. What I picked up on in the theatre was Maguire giving him some much needed encouragement when they're sharing stories. Acting as Uncle Ben like as we wished:
Maguire: "Can we rewind it back to the I'm lame part? You are not."
People today still say that this version of the character looks too cool and handsome, and some still harp on the skateboard. That stuff doesn't mean much if your self-confidence is low and you see something else in the mirror. Fucking trust me on that. It's a reading to far into things, but it's fitting that his mask in the second movie is attached to the front of his costume in a way that he can very quickly hide his face. Most blow past the fact that Gwen asks him out, and that's one of the scenes that always stuck with me because it's one of the reasons he became "my Spider-Man." The exchange reminded me of this post I made a few years ago.
This reunion for the fans isn't solely built on the references and memes that we've been making and awaiting. It's built on something real and necessary. We get an idea of what an Amazing Spider-Man 3 could've been after fighting Rhino. It's a Peter who struggles to keep going after Gwen's death and puts anger back into his vigilantism, the same way it began for him. It's something we may not have wanted to see. We get a good look at how Maguire would appear in a followup to the Holy Trilogy, too. I'm happy to report he's doing okay. Other have noticed he has serious Peter B. Parker energy from Spider-Verse, as he should. Also, this reunion for the fans is built up to, with the movie having a pretty strong opening that for the most part doesn't rely on the team-ups.
Peter, MJ, and Ned are finally a proper trio, after the first two movies kinda had to slowly bring MJ into the fold. The best and easiest comparison to make is the Harry Potter trio. It's not in the character-types but in the actors' chemistry. Adding an annoyed Doctor Strange to the mix has its moments too. His title still being butchered to "Wizard" is a throwaway joke that never gets old.
The movie's close is equally strong. With May's death and Doctor Strange's original spell needing to go through, this version of Peter is back to a square one we've never quite seen before. Everyone knows Spider-Man, but no one knows Mr. Parker. Iron Man Jr. is no more, and we find ourselves in a one-room apartment (sorry, Mr. Ditkovich cameo) with a, seemingly, beautiful fabric suit. We don't get the best look at it, like the film's action, and hopefully some official pictures are shown after a couple weeks.
Marvel Studios and Feige are still involved in these movies, but if shit goes south between Sony and Marvel, they set it up right. They set it up so that while we may sacrifice some characters we know and love, we may get well-lit battles back. It's a fair trade-off brought after one of the highest highs a Spider-Fan can experience. That's what this movie was too, a fair trade-off. MCU style, for all of its pros and cons, with the interpretations Sony helped build, with all their pros and cons.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Talking About Fan-Made Movie Trailers | Guest Appearing on The Turtle Stack Podcast
Friday, December 3, 2021
House of Gucci (2021) | Short Review
This movie features beautiful music like The Barber of Seville, passed down to me through Bugs Bunny and The Looney Tunes. I am fucking trash, but so is House of Gucci.
House of Gucci covers the era of the fashion giant that starts with Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) meeting his future wife Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), and it ends around 1995. The movie also stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and an over-the-top, future Razzie-nominee Jared Leto. It is directed by Ridley Scott, as it may have been additionally attached, in error, to the screenplay for The Last Duel. That sounds mean, and several things I've said are, but I do actually think that Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna turned Sara Gay Forden's book into something really fun. Scott just was not the guy to direct it. He didn't exaggerate it with style like Martin Scorsese did with Wolf of Wall Street, and he didn't turn it into a farce. He tried to play melodrama ridiculously straight...with Pacino and Leto. At least, as someone going into the theatre blind, it was unexpected. That, solid pacing, and great chemistry from Gaga and Driver helped keep me engaged.
If this movie just stretched out the opening, where Driver and Gaga are falling in love and giving off strong Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in Amazing Spider-Man vibes, I would've just loved it. They basically are playing Peter and Gwen. He's a little bit awkward, and she is able to pursue him and push him out of his comfort zone just a little bit. My favorite part of the movie's opening act is when she asks him to dance. He gives it a go, but he doesn't know what he's doing on the floor. I just wanted that to mostly be the movie. There's a lot of other little areas that could've been explored instead, too.
When the couple discovers the knockoff industry on the sidewalks of New York, she becomes angry that it could damage the brand, but he and others in the family don't see it as a big deal. I really like that the movie doesn't take a hard stance either way, and it's those moments in the story that stuck out more than Maurizio and Patrizia taking control of the family business.
Another would be the rise of Tom Ford, but hopefully he'll get his own movie or miniseries one day. He actually could write and direct it himself, and Reeve Carney could reprise his role from this movie.
House of Gucci opens a lot of doors to future projects, like Driver and Gaga becoming a regular duo, and those two other story areas. That's at least something. Until then, watch the two leads in better projects, and, from what I've heard, the director's work in The Last Duel.
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Let's get the hard part out of the way immediately. In this movie, one of main characters, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) makes a new friend at her new school. Here's how that goes:
"I call myself Podcast, because of my podcast." That effectively is Logan Kim's character's name.
I was going to reference that old email hack/leak and say that Amy Pascal and the higher-ups at Sony Pictures haven't learned anything in at least nine years, but it turns out the skateboarding in The Amazing Spider-Man was actually Andrew Garfield's idea. (Give the man an Oscar this year, please.) Plus, the results are the same. Something inserted into the movie to stay trendy actually has some genuine meaning or payoff to it, and the actors and other filmmakers make those things work. Ghostbusters: Afterlife just has a lot of that. There's a conflict just in what the movie is that can be seen and felt.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II. The 2016 reboot is now its own separate thing, and the same can probably be said for the 2009 video game that kinda-sorta was Ghostbusters III until now. So, with all that being said the basic plot of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, from IMDb, is "When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town [called Summerville, Oklahoma,] they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind." It stars Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, and Celeste O'Connor. Since it's a direct sequel, some legacy cast members may pop in. It's directed by Jason Reitman, written by him and Gil Kenan, and Ivan Reitman returns as a producer.
It's probably best to star with Finn Wolfhard because of the Stranger Things/It/80s vibes of his casting. The way this movie grapples with nostalgia is that it knows if it goes all-in people will, for the most part, pissed. So, it's incredibly selective what it brings back in a way where I couldn't tell when the movie took place. Except for a couple lines of dialogue and the timeline having to fit so that somebody could be a grandpa, this could take place in the 80s or 90s. Instead, Summerville is more like one of those tiny towns that time forgot. Like one John Oliver may cover in one of those invisible injustice kind of episodes. So, one of the featured locations is a car-hop diner, and how out of place it looks will vary from viewer to viewer. Wolfhard plays Grace's brother. He's not given as much to do as he probably should, but one of the first big legacy scenes comes from him, and it's pretty wonderful. Drifting in a field in the Ecto-1, with only a learner's permit, is something that dreams are made of. It's even more heartwarming when there's an Ecto-1 in your area that's occasionally in the movie theatre parking lot.
The other great thing from him is that his scenes with Celeste O'Connor give Summerville a lived-in quality that helps explain that clashing feeling in the town's look. You could easily become stuck there. Whether that's really for better or worse is not really addressed, so that leaves the question more open than most movies that bring up the idea. It's actually pretty fitting, since Reitman's movie Young Adult, reviewed here, really dives into that.
Mckenna Grace and Carrie Coon's first experiences in Summerville are on the more mysterious side of things, and they both work really well off of each other and Paul Rudd.
A lot of the emotional moments of Afterlife come from Grace and Coon learning more about the upbringing they never really had and coping with it. Reitman could, in a lot of successful ways, push this heavily, but instead it's done just enough so that the momentum of the plot, for the most part, doesn't suffer. The movie's editing is a bit choppy in this way, as one discovery is interrupted with a check-in with Wolfhard back at the diner, and it seems like something that could've been left out. It's meant to build up his relationship with Celeste O'Connor, but I think better scenes later on end up doing that anyway.
Finally, there's the humor, effects, and action. Jokes largely do land, and I laughed out loud a few times in the theatre. Most of the time, this was because of Rudd or some visual gag with a ghost, but everyone delivers in some respect.
A personal favorite, is when one of the kids says they can't even get any bars on their phone, Coon says there better be at least one. This one, luckily, is the only one ruined by Grace pointing out that it's a joke. Just to be clear, both give great performances, and Mckenna Grace is especially phenomenal. If you haven't seen her in Gifted, go check it out. She and Logan Kim are given what could've been two of the easiest roles to forget, if this was bad Ghostbusters movie, but she's given a lot of time to develop Phoebe, and Podcast has a real charm to him.
Jokes are actually a big part of Grace's character, as she's told to use them to break the ice in Summerville, but it could've been handled better. She does some pretty standard stuff out of a joke book, and I wonder if something really funny, but also really weird or awkward, and science-based could've been done instead. What we get is somewhere between wasted opportunities and eye-rolling moments. Early on, I was afraid there'd be more of them and that they wouldn't go anywhere...not that they leave a huge impact in the end.
In a huge surprise, to someone who follows this stuff, Sony Imageworks didn't do any of the special effects for Afterlife. Companies listed are Double Negative, Instinctual VFX, Moving Picture Company, and Proof. They all did a gorgeous job, especially considering that they had to, among other tasks, update our beloved Mr. Stay-Puft.
The major action set piece is a chase to capture a Slimer-like ghost. Tailing him in Ecto-1, while using an RC-Car/Trap, it's a good to modernize things. It's not too much, and it fits the established world.
Having said that, I would like to say that the 2016 reboot had a lot of fun with their gadgets, the Ghostbuster's logo actually being a ghost for a minute was a delightful surprise. That second one is what told me it was more than a cash-grab, at least to some people involved. There was a lot more stuff like that, this time around.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Royal Jelly (2021)
The synopsis for the horror movie Royal Jelly, from Facebook is, "When a shy high school bee enthusiast is taken under the wing of a mysterious mentor, she discovers she's being groomed as a hive's next queen." The thing is, the horror movie and grooming aspects aren't 100% accurate to what Royal Jelly is, at least to me. Still, stuff like that, and little interesting details here and there, make picking it apart fun. Royal Jelly stars, among others, Elizabeth McCoy (Astar, the bee enthusiast), Sherry Lattanzi (Tresa, the mysterious mentor), and Fiona McQuinn and Jonas Chartock (Astar's parents). It is written, directed, and edited by Sean Riley, the music is by Joe Hodgin, and the cinematography is by Jonathan Hammond.
So, Royal Jelly's horror elements really come out in the last half-hour or so. It slowly transitions from comedy-drama, to thriller, to bodily horror. This is an approach that makes a lot of sense to build tension up throughout the movie, but it doesn't completely work here. The problem is that the build-up is more like full changes from one mode to the next. It's not jarring, but it is something I felt. This is because a lot of time is spent establishing Astar, but that is done really well.
Riley leans heavily on costume design and makeup to provide a crash-course on Astar. Band t-shirts, glasses, and dark lipstick work as a quick shorthand, against her less awkward classmates...the awkwardness is something to circle back to, though. This costuming isn't excessive, so it doesn't call attention to itself. It's visual storytelling that luckily is carried throughout the movie, and it's one of several little details and showcases of care and effort.
Another piece of the movie that's worth noting, mostly early on, is how Hammond shoots it. The opening credits are over the start to finish of a jar of honey, and way McCoy holds it up to the light to get these sparkling glints stands out because it's one of those things that's usually overdone or done like a post-production lens flare. This jar just looks really beautiful, as crazy as that might sound. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't look like this when it becomes a full horror film. At that point everything is dimly lit, and it's hard to make everything out without outside interference, such as changing your screen's brightness and the lights in your room. It's a shame because the blood and creature stuff that's late in the game looks great. At least one moment, with some Nightmare on Elm Street 3 vibes, is done before the full genre shift. Speaking of which, we have to talk about Carrie a little.
Riley and crew's appreciation for Carrie is explicit, as one of Astar's bullies mentions it by name, and the start of Astar's story is similar in a few respects. What makes this a little tougher, at least on paper is that aspects of it are a bit more relatable. Instead of a religious zealot for a mother, Fiona McQuinn's character is just a crappy stepmother with some selfish tendencies. That comes across really well when she helps herself to an extra serving of dinner, before passing the scraps to her stepdaughter. McQuinn's daughter, played by Raylen Ladner (Drew), is downright cruel in some spots and definitely a fan of Stephen King's work. Royal Jelly is able to do a lot with a little, and that's what I held onto when the acting fell short or a writing convenience was taken. It also made that extra effort mentioned, whether it be the use of a song, a drone shot, or a choir in Hodgin's score, much more noticeable. So, onto the acting and writing shortfalls.
The acting mostly is just really stiff. Everyone is doing their best, but that really doesn't come across. It's the clearest sign that this is a smaller, indie movie. McCoy is worth bringing up because she is giving a very consistent performance, and she, like many of the actors, is able to fallback on giving a non-verbal performance pretty well. Lattanzi is another story. Her character powers that shift into horror, and her performance is pretty over the top. What could've worked a lot better is if the grooming was stretched out over a significant portion of the movie. What happens is more like trying a few things, and then powering through with someone who's not completely on-board. Stretching it would actually solve a lot of little issues that pop up here and there. There's one I'd like to go into because it's surprising for a movie with a strong start.
Astar and Tresa get revenge on some bullies by egging their house. When they're getting away, the overhead light inside their car is on a lot longer than it should've been, relatively speaking, so they're spotted, and that's why Astar decides to lay low with Tresa for a while, and that's what really kicks things off. It makes sense, but it still feels like a shortcut taken to force the situation. A little script tightening goes a long way, especially in a movie like that. The other thing that helps though, especially in the cases of small movies, is developing movie posters like this that really stand out.
Two great posters for the movie.
The movie is an interesting watch on its own, but the promise of these just felt like a great note to go out on. The Pan's Labyrinth and original Grimm influence is really felt through these designs, and through the body horror at the tail-end of Royal Jelly itself. That stuff, and the use of blood and makeup in general, is handled well.
A screener of this movie was provided to me by Sean Riley. I was not compensated for this review.
Royal Jelly is available September 14th on various digital streaming platforms.
Also, stick around for the post-credits scene. There's a PSA about bees, but it's nicely done in a non-preachy, tongue-in-cheek-ish way that, appropriately feels like it was added as an afterthought to help support bees.
Sunday, August 22, 2021
Iron Man (2008) | Guest Appearing on the Media Buffet Podcast
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) | Short Review
Dom (Cedric Joe) and all the video game design stuff directly related to him was interesting. Hopefully it encourages some people to get into design.
Some extras and animators got to dress up as or work on characters they love, so hopefully they had a fun time.
Some jokes work, and the ball playing has some freshness to it when the awful script allows it. The NBA Street series, last checked, has been dormant for a while. Maybe this’ll change that.
The overall writing is just exposition, clichés, and WB trumpeting.
The crossovers are pointless and wasted to the point where it makes me wish DC and other WB subsidiaries were independent entities.
When it comes to the writing, just about everyone involved should feel a little crappy about their work.