A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2022 - Episode IX

As the summer heat fades and the glorious cool winds of autumn rise, the big screen will be busy in September with a packed roster. We have the return of a few of the biggest money-makers of all time, along with our first handful of Oscar hopefuls. Here is what’s coming for the month of September: 

 

 

 

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – THE MORE FUN STUFF VERSION – The box office smash and game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) returns to the theatres with eleven minutes of new footage. 

 

 

HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL – In this comedy, Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star as a husband-and-wife minister team who need to rebuild their church. 

 

 

 

JAWS – Steven Spielberg’s landmark film gets a re-release in 3D IMAX for the first time, as part of the 40^thanniversary celebration of Spielberg’s other smash-hit, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. 

 

 

 

BARBARIAN – In this horror thriller, a young woman books a rental home only to find a strange man already living there. Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, and Justin Long star. 

 

 

 

MEDIEVAL – In this historical drama set in the 14^th century, Ben Foster carries the sword of Jan Zizka; a Bohemian commander who never lost a battle. The cast includes Michael Caine, William Moseley, and Matthew Goode. 

 

 

 

MOONAGE DAYDREAM – A documentary film about the late great David Bowie, which utilizes previously unreleased footage from Bowie’s personal archives. 

 

 

 

THE WOMAN KING – In this historical epic, Viola Davis leads all-female warriors who protected an African kingdom in the 19^th century. Lashana Lynch (CAPTAIN MARVEL), and John Boyega (THE FORCE AWAKENS), co-star. 

 

 

 

CONFESS, FLETCH – Jon Hamm (TV’S MAD MEN), takes on the role of the L.A. reporter once held down by Chevy Chase in this re-adaptation of the novels. 

 

 

 

PEARL – Ti West directs this prequel to her horror film X which was released earlier this year. It follows the origins of her slasher-villain. 

 

 

 

AVATAR – James Cameron brings his all-time box office champion back to the big screen for another go, in preparation for the sequel later this year. 

 

 

DON’T WORRY DARLING – Oliva Wilde directs and stars in this this psychological thriller about a happy couple in the 1950’s living in a community built by a mysterious company. The cast includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, KiKi Lane, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. 

 

 

 

BROS – Nicholas Stoller, who brought us the comedy FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, delivers this rom-com about two gay men with commitment issues giving each other a try. 

 

 

 

THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER – Peter Farrelly, director of DUMB AND DUMBER, brings us this true story about a man who decides to deliver beer to his buddies in the Vietnam War. Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, and Bill Murray star. 

 

 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the month of October. 

 

 

 

 

A Reel Review: THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING

Director George Miller has had one of the most diverse film careers of all time. He brought the apocalypse to the big screen in the MAD MAX franchise in 1979, won Oscars with his animated film HAPPY FEET in 2006, and then took the world by storm with the thunder of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD in 2015. Here in 2022, Miller ventures into the realm of fantasy with THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING. 

 

Alithea (Tilda Swinton), a lonely British scholar specializing in the art and history of storytelling, encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba), who will grant her three wishes…

 

Directed by Miller and based on the 1994 short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt, LONGING is a film that serves many purposes. The majority of the film unfolds like a single-location stage play, with Alithea and Djinn in her hotel room. Alithea has no great desires in her heart and wants no wishes, but Djinn must grant them or else perish. What follows is Djinn telling his story throughout history, as he meets and influences historical figures through thousands of years. Through this, Djinn and Alithea examine and explore the nature of storytelling and the dangers of wishes. 

 

The subject matter is fascinating, and as Djinn tells his story, breadcrumbs are sprinkled here and there. Alithea has hallucinations before she even meets Djinn; characters and objects that eventually appear throughout Djinn’s extended flashbacks. There seems to be a great promise to reveal the deeper meaning of it…which never comes and leaves a lot up to the viewer to figure out. It’s not quite an attempt at an ambiguous movie where everyone can take away their own meaning, but instead mystery just for the sake of mystery. 

 

Miller films a gorgeous looking movie, and the visuals are stunning. Djinn’s tale through time is brought to life in amazing ways. Miller also gets outstanding performances from Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba…who have great chemistry and truly make the screen crackle. 

 

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING is one of those movies that every director and screenwriter wants to make eventually; a story about storytelling that examines why we spin yarns and what they mean to us in our lives. Miller asks many questions but provides no answers, which is the right thing to do. LONGING mostly works, but there are just one too many unanswered questions that leaves us longing for more. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it 

A Reel Opinion: The Top 10 Best Films of the 1930's

The world of cinema is in a turbulent stage of transition. There is a lot of talk about streaming vs. theatrical releases, the future of the movie theatre, digital vs. film, merging studios, and huge steps in technology that can literally resurrect long-dead actors for the screen. It is safe to say that the decisions made in the next few years will affect the industry for the next several decades. 

 

What is happening today is not unlike what was happening in the 1930’s. Nearly 100 years ago, there was much talk about silent films vs. talkies, black and white vs. color, and the rise of what would become the current studio system. What happened in the thirties came to define Hollywood for a very long time, and along the way they put out some of the best films of all time. And that brings us to Reel Speak’s Top 10 Films of the 1930’s. 

 

It was an era loaded with budding talent. Famed filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and John Ford would get their start. Towering actors such as John Wayne, James Stewart, and Jean Harlow would start to shine. Decades before big franchises like Marvel were born (or before the term was applied to film), there were series such as THE THIN MAN, SHERLOCK HOLMES, and knee-slappers by the Marx Brothers. And across the pond in Germany, the Expressionist movement was underway which elevated cinema to higher form of art. It was a landmark decade, with the best films out of the era lasting the test of time. This Top 10 are the films that haven’t really aged and feel modern, changed the industry, and found their way into our lives. 

 

 

 

 

10. MODERN TIMES (1936)

Charlie Chaplin directed and starred in this comedy about surviving in an industrialized world which is a snapshot of the era he was living in; an era that was building skyscrapers and churning out cars on assembly lines. It was the last time Chaplin would play The Tramp, and the first time his voice would be heard on the screen. A marvel of visual effects thanks to clever placements of matte paintings, MODERN TIMES would inspire generations of visual effects crews that would not arrive on the scene for several more decades. 

 

 

 

 

9. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

The first feature-length animated film, and the first of many from Walt Disney. Based on the 1812 fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, Walt Disney cemented his studio as a leader in animation and children’s storytelling that also worked for adults. The film inspired 90 years of theme park attractions and animated films, and started Disney’s success story that continues to this day. 

 

 

 

 

8. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

Years before he would direct the holiday classic IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), Frank Capra would helm this romantic comedy that would become the first to win the Big Five Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Writing). Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert would play the would-be lovers, and as one of the last rom-coms made before the Motion Picture Production Code (which would become our current ratings system), the film was able to get away with racy scenes such as a shirtless Gable and Colbert using her legs to hail a cab. Ground zero for sexy comedies in film. 

 

 

 

7. SCARFACE (1932)

Brian DePalma still gets most of the attention with his over-the-top 1983 remake with Al Pacino, leaving this Howard Hawks production often getting overlooked. This SCARFACE defined the gangster genre for the big screen, as it followed a gangster rising through the underworld of Chicago. The film was banned in several states because of its violence, leading to producer Howard Hughes to store the film in his vault for decades before re-emerging…and inspiring filmmakers such as Scorsese and Coppola to make their gangster films. 

 

 

 

 

6. THE 39 STEPS (1935)

Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller about a civilian who gets mixed up in an international spy ring that has often been credited with kickstarting cinematic escapist entertainment. It was one of the first British films to be successful in the United States, which started a full century of a cinematic UK invasion. Hitchcock began to hone many of his trademarks here that would solidify his reputation and launch a thousand film careers. 

 

 

 

5. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)

The horror genre got off to a hot start in the 1930’s, introducing the world to vampires, wolf-men, mummies, and Frankenstein’s monster. It was this sequel to the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN that would set a standard for sequels for the next nine decades; taking things not only bigger but deeper. James Whale directed and Elsa Lanchester took on the iconic look of The Bride, in a film that feels like it could have been made today. 

 

 

 

4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

This towering, multi-Oscar winner (including Best Picture), has been beloved from the start, despite certain elements of it hard to watch when viewed through today’s optics. Victor Fleming directed the adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s massive novel about the deep South during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era, along with a love story that has proved to be timeless. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh became instant icons, and even today the film is stunning to take in. 

 

 

 

 

3. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)

Erroll Flynn takes on the swashbuckling role of Robin Hood in this rollicking adventure that defined the Sherwood bandit across decades of remakes, re-adaptations, parodies, and animated films. The action sequences, involving swordfighting, actual arrows being slung, and hundreds of extras, are impressive even by today’s standards, and would hold influence over future thrillers from STAR WARS to AVENGERS. It was one of the first films using the three-strip Technicolor process, a move that was successful enough to send many other productions swinging away from black-and-white. 

 

 

 

2. KING KONG (1933)

Take a walk in NYC within view of the Empire State Building, and there will be a guaranteed sighting of a tourist making a King Kong joke. That is the massive, long-standing cultural impact this 1933 thriller about a giant, rampaging, lovesick ape has had and continues to have. A well-balanced blending of horror, adventure, and romance, KONG revolutionized visual effects and launched the Giant Monster genre. And lest we forget the late great Fay Wray, who would be dubbed as one of the first Scream Queens, while giving a new meaning to the “beauty and the beast” tale. 

 

 

 

1. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

This beloved musical based on the L. Frank Baum novel may seem like the easy choice, but it’s the easy choice for all the right reasons. Every song, character, outfit, and line of dialogue is instantly recognizable for every generation, and Judy Garland’s character of Dorothy would set a trail that would be followed by cinematic heroes with names like Skywalker and Potter. The story is simple, but is told in a way that is open for thematic interpretation; leaving scholars to debate its deeper meaning and future film directors and writers to study. It has passed the test of time and is the one film out of this era that everyone has in their lives. 

Reel Speak's Top 10 Best Films of the 1930's

1. THE WIZARD OF OZ
2. KING KONG
3. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
4. GONE WITH THE WIND
5. THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
6. THE 39 STEPS
7. SCARFACE
8. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
9. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
10. MODERN TIMES

A Reel 20: SIGNS

“Swing away, Merrill…”

 

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of M. Night Shyamalan’s SIGNS. 

 

One of the biggest box office hits of 2002, SIGNS was the third consecutive hit from M. Night, following his breakout films THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), and UNBREAKABLE (2000). Written and directed by M. Night, SIGNS told the tale of a widowed, former priest and his family who discover a series of crop circles in his cornfield, which turns into a prelude to an alien invasion. 

 

Despite the sci-fi (and horror) elements, SIGNS was a character-driven piece and would require an excellent cast. Mark Ruffalo, years before his AVENGERS fame, was originally cast in the lead, but had to pull out due to required surgery for a tumor. In his place, Mel Gibson was brought in, taking on the role of the former priest. Gibson was joined by Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, and Cherry Jones. 

 

Filming began in 2001 on location in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The cornfield and scenes around the family home were shot inside the campus of Delaware University, an agricultural college. Other scenes were filmed in Newton and Morrisville, PA. James Newton Howard composed the score. 

 

Upon release, SIGNS would receive mixed to excellent reviews. At the time of its release, it would have the second-highest August opening weekend, and the biggest opening in Mel Gibson’s career. Domestically, it would finish fourth, behind big franchise films HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, and SPIDER-MAN. SIGNS would be nominated for multiple awards, including from the Online Film Critics Society, Empire Awards, and would take home a win from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). 

 

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This Blogger’s fondest memory of SIGNS comes not from my first in-theatre viewing, but from my behind-the-glass experiences. I had just started working at Cinemark Theaters as a projectionist that summer, and SIGNS was the first big film to run. I can recall the buzz in the air, and took joy in seeing people jump out of their seats every showing. 

 

SIGNS brought the scares and the drama, but back then it unfairly took a slight beating for what was perceived to be an underwhelming twist at the end. In THE SIXTH SENSE and UNBREAKABLE, M. Night delivered twist endings that used a sledgehammer. For SIGNS, he went more subtle; the reveal was that the “signs” were there in the film for the characters and the audience, and it wasn’t a twist as much as a realization. As a sci-fi film, it brought a new intimate angle to the old alien invasion story. After all, this was only six years after INDEPENDENCE DAY blew up half the planet. SIGNS took inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS (1963), which gives it a timeless feel, and the basis of family and faith (not quite religion, but belief in anything), gives it an added depth. All the signs are here for one of M. Night’s best. 

 

“Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”

Wolfgang Petersen: 1941 - 2022

Director Wolfgang Petersen has passed away at the age of 81. 

 

Born in 1941 in Emden, Germany, he attended the Film and Television Academy in Berlin after spending years directing plays. His first film productions were for German television. 

 

He made his theatrical debut in 1974 with the psychological thriller ONE OR THE OTHER OF US. His second feature, DIE KONSSEQUENZ (1977), earned controversy over its subject matter; the homosexual lifestyle of Swiss actor Alexander Ziegler. 

 

In 1982 he had his breakout film with the WWII epic DAS BOOT; a film that is often to be considered one of the finest war films and the definitive submarine warfare film. The film would be nominated for six Oscars, with Petersen winning two: Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. 

 

His first English language film would come in 1984 with the beloved fantasy THE NEVERENDING STORY. He would follow that up with the sci-fi cult hit ENEMY MINE (1985). In the 1990’s, he would have a string of hits starting with IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993), with Clint Eastwood, the suspense thriller OUTBREAK (1995), with Dustin Hoffman, and AIR FORCE ONE (1997), with Harrison Ford. In the new millennium he would direct Summer blockbusters such as THE PERFECT STORM (2000), and the historical epic TROY (2004). He would return to the sea in 2006 with the disaster film POSEIDON. 

 

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Wolfgang Petersen leaves us with a total of 14 feature films, and of those 14, many have become imbedded in our culture. From Harrison Ford playing a U.S. President kicking terrorists off his plane, to epic wide-scale horse-and-chariot battles, to large flying creatures, to U-boat warfare…Peterson seemed to have an excellent knack for it all. The surroundings changed from film to film, but his talent for rising tension and keeping the story moving was always there. He was a true storyteller, filmmaker, and today Hollywood action films are still following in his footsteps. 

Reel Facts & Opinions: BATGIRL Joins a Club

Shockwaves were sent through the cinema world last week, when Warner Bros. announced they were scrapping their BATGIRL film. The adaptation of the popular DC Comics character, which had completed filming (but not quite the editing or post-production), will not see a release on the big screen, small screen, or any screen in-between. With the popularity of superhero movies, and the easy access of streaming, the scrapping of the film is a real head-scratcher, worthy of debate, and another entry into an exclusive club of Cancelled Movies. 

 

There is a lot that goes into making a film. Things like budgets, logistics, and creative differences barely began to cover it all. BATGIRL was cancelled for a milkshake of official and un-official reasons, ranging from a change in studio direction, the movie being bad and unsalvageable, all the way to nutball conspiracy theories saying the move was just a ruse to drum up publicity. 

 

Either way, BATGIRL for now has become a Cancelled, or Abandoned Film that has some interesting and impressive company (quick note: there is a big difference between a cancelled film that is actually shot and half-edited, and a film that never sees the front of a camera): Way back in 1922, famed director Alfred Hitchcock had his very first feature film, called NUMBER 13, cancelled when the budget collapsed with only a few scenes shot. Today that footage is highly sought after by collectors and film historians…without success. In 1937, Oscar-nominated director Josef von Sternberg was filming his historical epic I, CLAUDIUS (starring Charles Laughton), when a serious car accident resulted in filming ending before completion. Footage from the film was later used in a 1965 documentary called THE EPIC THAT NEVER WAS. 

 

Other examples are littered through history. The 1972 martial-arts film GAME OF DEATH was never completed as intended, due to the death of star Bruce Lee. The film would appear in different versions over the years. In 1975, Mike Nichols clashed with actor Robert DeNiro during filming of BOGART SLEPT HERE, and the film was scrapped and later rearranged into THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977). In 1988, stand-up comedian Sam Kinison was starring in the comedy ATUK and started demanding rewrites. The film was shut down after one scene was shot. And in 2006, a remake of REVENGE OF THE NERDS was axed after two weeks of filming, after officials at Emory University (where the film was being shot), read the script and objected. 

 

Some other infamous scrapped films include the late great Jerry Lewis’ 1972 drama THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, which told the story of a clown entertaining kids in a Nazi concentration camp. The film was shot, but never released. And getting back to superheroes, in 1994 the adaptation of Marvel’s THE FANTASTIC FOUR was filmed, edited, but never released. It would later be revealed that the film was never intended to see the light of day, and was only done for the parent studio to retain the rights to the characters. 

 

Where does all that leave BATGIRL? For now, still on the shelf. But one thing many of these cancelled films have had in common is that the footage eventually appeared in one form or another. With streaming such an easy option and theatres very much needing content in the last few months of the year (not to mention very vocal fans), there is a slight (ever so slight), chance of BATGIRL seeing some sort of screen. If not, then BATGIRL becomes cinema that never was. 

 

 

A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2022 - Episode VIII

The final month of the Summer Movie Season is traditionally a quiet one, and this August is much of the same…with a few thrillers to look forward to and the return of an old friend before the cool and glorious winds of fall arrive. Here’s what’s blowing into theatres for the month of August: 

 

 

BULLET TRAIN – In this action comedy, Brad Pitt plays a trained killer hired to retrieve a briefcase on a Japanese bullet train. The large cast includes Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brain Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, and Sandra Bollock. It is directed by David Leitch, who brought us DEADPOOL 2 (2018), and HOBBS & SHAW (2019). 

 

 

BODIES BODIES BODIES – A slasher comedy which sees seven young friends trapped in a mansion during a hurricane and stalked by a killer. Amandla Stenberg stars. 

 

 

EASTER SUNDAY – Stand-up comic Jo Koy plays a father who takes his son to a family Easter Sunday celebration that goes wild. Tia Carrere, Tiffany Haddish, and Lou Diamond Phillips co-star. It is directed by Jay Chandraskhar, who starred in and directed several films in the Broken Lizard franchise. 

 

 

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL – Steven Spielberg’s beloved film about a wayward alien gets a 40^thanniversary IMAX re-release. 

 

 

BEAST – Idris Elba (THOR, BEASTS OF NO NATION), plays a father taking his kids to a safari in South Africa where they are hunted by a killer lion. Sharlto Copley and Riley Keough co-star. 

 

 

THE INVITATION – In this horror flick, a young woman is invited to a distant family gathering and enters a house of horrors. Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei from TV’s GAME OF THRONES), stars. 

 

 

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING – George Miller, director of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015), directs this romantic fantasy which sees a scholar being granted three wishes. It stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. 

 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the month of September.