A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2023 - Episode VI

The Summer Movie Season got off to a solid start with Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID taking in a good haul of clams. For the upcoming massive month of June, the Mouse will be rolling out a new Pixar flick, along with the return of one of the most beloved characters of all time. The month will also be packed tight with superheroes, robots from space, and a little bit of horror. Here’s what will be swinging into theatres for the month of June: 

 

 

 

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – Sony Pictures crawls back into the superhero business with this sequel to their 2018 animated smash-hit, with young Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) trying to save every universe of Spider-people. The cast also includes Brian Tyree Henry, Jason Schwartzman, and Oscar Isaac. 

 

 

 

THE BOOGEYMAN – Based on the 1973 short story by Stephen King, this horror flick sees a young girl (Sophie Thatcher), and her family terrorized by a mysterious entity. 

 

 

 

 

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS – The seventh film in the TRANSFORMERS franchise, serving as a direct sequel to BUMBLEBEE (2018), and a prequel to the 2007 movie. Anthony Ramos stars. 

 

 

 

97 MINUTES – In this action-thriller, a hijacked plane has 97 minutes before it runs out of fuel. Alec Baldwin stars. 

 

 

 

THE BLACKENING – A group of friends encounter a killer while staying at a cabin in the woods in this horror-comedy, which pokes fun at the trope of African American characters always being the first to die in a horror movie. 

 

 

 

ELEMENTAL – Pixar Animation Studios returns to the big screen in this fantasy set in a world populated by the elements of nature…where a fiery woman and a water-guy fall in love. 

 

 

 

THE FLASH – Michael Keaton returns to the role of Batman for the first time in 30 years in this superhero team-up, which also happens to have The Flash (Ezra Miller). The cast also includes Ben Affleck (also reprising Batman), Sasha Calle, and Michael Shannon. It is directed by Andy Muschietti, who brought us the latest adaptation of IT (2017, 2019), to the big screen. 

 

 

 

NO HARD FEELINGS – In this coming-of-age sex comedy, Jennifer Lawrence stars as a broke Uber driver who takes an odd job of helping a teen become a man. Matthew Broderick co-stars. 

 

 

 

GOD IS A BULLET – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime from TV’S GAME OF THRONES), plays a father who travels into the bowels of a cult to save his daughter. Jamie Foxx, January Jones, and Andrew Dice Clay co-star. It is directed by Nick Cassavates (THE NOTEBOOK). 

 

 

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY – Harrison Ford returns as the world-famous swashbuckling archeologist for one last adventure, this time seeking a device that has the power to change things radically. The cast includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, and John Rhys-Davies. It is directed by James Mangold (LOGAN, 3:10 TO YUMA). 

 

 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the month of July. 

A Reel Review: THE LITTLE MERMAID

Despite the success Disney has had with their onslaught of live-action remakes of their classic animated films, none of these second-shots seem to have much of a shelf-life. We may be wowed in the moment when we see live-action versions of beasts and lions and genies, but one year later when we need to scratch that Disney itch…we find ourselves reaching back for the originals without a thought. This year, Disney gives it another try, with THE LITTLE MERMAID. 

Ariel (Halle Bailey), is a mermaid princess and youngest daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), who has a fascination with the human world. She strikes a deal with the sea-witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), who gives her three days in human form to win the heart of Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). 

Directed by Rob Marshall, and based on the original Hans Christian Anderson story and the 1989 animated film, THE LITTLE MERMAID closely follows the familiar story beats. Ariel is in love with the human world and Prince Eric, which drives her father nuts and eventually pushes her towards Ursula and a chance at life upstairs. It’s all familiar and comfortable, with enough minor changes in character, actions, and settings to balance out some freshness. MERMAID eventually hones things down to the relationship between Ariel and Eric. Both are dealing with parental issues and feeling trapped in the world they live in. This is the heart of the story and it is developed well. 

Rob Marshall plays with a vast and magnificent-looking canvas making up the underwater world and Eric’s island-castle. Everything looks gorgeous, lush and full of rich color. Intimate scenes are done well, tension is ramped up nicely on the action sequences, and when the film goes dark the scares work. Pacing feels like it could have been tightened up; there is some redundancy in the first act, and it takes way too long for Ariel to get out of the water. The run-time of 135 minutes is certainly felt. 

CGI is dazzling in creating the underwater world and the creatures that inhabit it. Ariel is helped along by her companions Sebastian the crab (Daveed Diggs), Flounder the tropical fish (Jacob Tremblay), and Scuttle the dingbat diving-bird (Awkwafina). The creatures look amazing and they are fleshed out enough to feel like characters and not CGI blobs. Scuttle gets to do a little rap-song in an attempt to modernize the film, and it feels way the hell out of place. 

Halle Bailey is dazzling as Ariel. Her voice fits the old and new songs perfectly and overall is a delight. Javier Barden is a little stoic, and Melissa McCarthy was absolutely born to play Ursula.

This version of THE LITTLE MERMAID does everything right; it is breathtaking, fun, emotional, and despite some extra fat to be trimmed still swims under the sea without as much as a fish-hook scratch. Despite the modernization it still has the Disney Princess, storybook ending, giving it a classic feel.  One year from now we may still gravitate towards the 1989 film, but that won’t happen without a little bit of thought towards this one. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it  

 

A Reel 20 - X2: X-MEN UNITED

"Let’s just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls…”

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of X2: X-MEN UNITED. 

Directed by Bryan Singer, X2 was the direct sequel to Singer’s X-MEN from 2000, which ignited the new age of superhero films. X2 picked up on story threads from the first movie, including Wolverine’s search for his past, and Magneto’s quest for mutant freedom and domination. 

Inspired by the Marvel comics Return to Weapon X (2001) and God Loves, Man Kills (1982), X2 went into production right after the success of X-MEN. Singer was retained to direct, and he was joined by his superior cast of Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Halle Berry (Storm), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Kelly Hu (Deathstrike) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique). Newcomers included Brian Cox (Stryker), and Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler). 

Filming began in June of 2002 in Vancouver and lasted into November with over 64 sets being built in 38 locations. John Ottman provided the score. 

Upon release, X2 earned high praise from critics and fans, and would earn enough at the box office to finish as the 9^th highest grossing film of the year. It would win the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. 

 

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X2 was a superhero film that was ahead of its time. It came to us five years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) began, and was only six years removed from the BATMAN disasters of the late 1990’s. Despite being born in an odd spot, X2 has stood the test of time and is rightfully regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made. Its themes of family, loyalty, and basic human rights give the world of mutants a grounded and human touch, and that is balanced with some of the best action scenes in the genre; the opening attack on the White House, Wolverine’s showdown with Deathstrike, and Magneto’s magnificent prison break. 

Even with these great battles between good guys and bad guys, X2, like its predecessor, blurs the line between who was really in the right. The core of the film is Magneto’s desire for his fellow mutants to have freedom from persecution, and while his methods are brutal, his heart is in the right place. In today’s age where we still debate if the MCU’s top-villian Thanos was really right, this Magneto from 2003 may have done it first. 

In the long run, X2 made an even bigger star out of Hugh Jackman and bumped-up his Wolverine in pop-culture. The film would be the highest point of the series, which would have many ups and downs before it wrapped in 2017. In the near future, the MCU will be bringing the mutants back, along with Jackman for one last go…and the standard they need to meet is X2. 

 

“You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.”

 

A Reel 40: STAR WARS - RETURN OF THE JEDI

“The Force is strong in my family…”

 

This month marks the 40^th anniversary of STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI. 

 

The third and final episode in the Original STAR WARS Trilogy that started in 1977, and continued with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980, RETURN OF THE JEDI served as a grand finale and resolution to the Galactic Civil War, with the heroic Rebellion giving one last effort to topple the Evil Galactic Empire. 

 

Directed by Richard Marquand under the close supervision of series creator George Lucas, JEDI was swiftly put into production after the massive success of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Lucas was on the hunt for a director early on, considering names such as Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg. Richard Marquand was eventually selected. Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote EMPIRE, wrote the screenplay with Lucas. The film was originally to be called REVENGE OF THE JEDI, before Lucas re-thought it. 

 

Filming began in January of 1982 with a tight schedule to give more time for the amount of visual effects to be completed. Locations included Elstree Studios in England, Yuma Desert in California, and the redwood forests of California. The cast would include returnees Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, and Frank Oz. Ian McDiarmid would appear as the evil Emperor for the first time; a role that he would play in STAR WARS films for the next 35 years. John Williams would return to provide the score. 

 

RETURN OF THE JEDI was following up the many loose threads left hanging after THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, so anticipation was high, and it showed at the box office as it would finish as the highest grossing film of the year. After re-releases in 1985, 1997, and 2023, RETURN OF THE JEDI currently sits as the 91^sthighest grossing film in the United States and Canada. At the 56^th Academy Awards, it would be nominated for four Oscars, and would be honored with a Special Achievement Award for visual effects. 

 

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This Blogger has many memories of RETURN OF THE JEDI. As a STAR WARS kid, the wait in-between EMPIRE and JEDI seemed like an eternity, especially with the many unanswered questions left out there. In an age where the internet was barely a dream, it was schoolyard discussions and debates that went over all the questions; was Vader really Luke’s father? What would happen to Han Solo? The debates were endless, and it was the massive task of JEDI to wrap it all up. 

 

RETURN OF THE JEDI does indeed answer the questions, and it also has the task of ending the period of Civil War. It was a galactic-sized conflict that was balanced out by the story of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader; father and son, rising Jedi and fallen Jedi. The conflict would move into a climax that would brilliantly be played out over three fronts: on the ground (the forest moon of Endor), in space (above Endor), and on board the second Death Star itself. The three-front battle would set a new standard for action films, and Lucas would borrow from himself for the climax of THE PHANTOM MENACE in 1999. 

 

RETURN OF THE JEDI would give action directors more to play with in technical and storytelling advancements, and even though it served as a trilogy capper, set STAR WARS on the path that continues today. Bloodlines through the Force, cute characters, galactic gangsters, and fearsome bounty hunters would all be themes that STAR WARS would continue to explore on the big and small screens. The Original Trilogy ended here, but the next generation also began. That is the true legacy of JEDI. 

 

“When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be..”

A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2023 - Episode V

The month of May is traditionally known as the start of the Summer Movie Season. This year, the month is front and back loaded, with the most anticipated films coming in the first week and then at the end. Here are the notable big-screen releases for May of 2023: 

 

 

 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 – James Gunn returns to the Marvel Universe to direct the third GUARDIANS film, which is being sold as the final flight for this crew of galactic misfits. The cast includes returnees Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian, Pom Klementieff, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. The impressive cast also includes Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debecki, Sylvester Stallone, and Maria Bakalova (BORAT). 

 

 

LOVE AGAIN – Celine Dion appears in her first film role, playing a fictionalized version of herself in this rom-com which is an English-language remake of the 2016 German film SMS FUR DICH. 

 

 

BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER – The sequel to the 2018 comedy BOOK CLUB, starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen. 

 

 

FOOL’S PARADISE – Charlie Day has his directorial debut in this comedy about a publicist stuck with a mute man who won’t leave his side. It stars Day, Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, and one of the final screen appearances of the late Ray Liotta. 

 

 

KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC – This action fantasy is an adaption of the popular Manga Saint Sieya, with the goddess of war reincarnated in the body of a young street orphan. 

 

 

HYPNOTIC – Famed cult director Robert Rodriguez returns to direct this sci-fi thriller about a detective entangled in a mystery involving his own daughter and a secret government program. Ben Affleck stars. 

 

 

FAST X – The 10^th film in the FAST & THE FURIOUS franchise, serving as the first part of a two-part finale. Vin Diesel returns, and he is joined by Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Momoa, and John Cena. 

 

 

ABOUT MY FATHER – Robert DeNiro plays a traditional Italian immigrant father keeping a close eye on his son’s upcoming wedding. 

 

 

THE LITTLE MERMAID – From Walt Disney Pictures, a live-action remake of their classic 1989 animated hit. Rob Marshall, director of MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018), and the Oscar-winning CHICAGO (2002), takes the helm. Halle Bailey takes on the role of Ariel, and Melissa McCarthy plays the villainous Ursula. 

 

 

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Next month: Reel Speak previews the massive month of June.