Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

SISU: In the closing days of WWII in Finland, a Nazi squadron regrets harassing an old gold prospector who turns out to be a legendary ex-commando. A gory exercise in Nazi-slaying, SISU's violence is sometimes laugh-out-loud ridiculous; our hero isn't so much a Lapland John Wick as he is a supernatural manifestation of Finnish stubbornness. The whole movie is Finland advertising to the world, "Don't f**k with us." 3.5/5. 

[M.10rda]

SISU: In the closing days of WWII in Finland, a Nazi squadron regrets harassing an old gold prospector who turns out to be a legendary ex-commando. A gory exercise in Nazi-slaying, SISU's violence is sometimes laugh-out-loud ridiculous; our hero isn't so much a Lapland John Wick as he is a supernatural manifestation of Finnish stubbornness. The whole movie is Finland advertising to the world, "Don't f**k with us." 3.5/5. 

I'm excited about this one. Trailer was a hoot.

[M.10rda]

ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023):
If I was a mind-altering drugs-taking guy, I would waste no time dosing myself w/ some and then hurrying back for a second screening of this. It's certainly eye-poppingly colorful and sometimes overwhelmingly busy w/ all manner of Moebius/Jodorowski-esque sci-fi lunacy. It's also a real slog w/ pedestrian plotting and barely discernible character development. (The filmmakers must be terribly bored w/ Evangeline Lilly's Wasp Jr. as they give her little to do and barely any dialogue besides yelling "Mom!" and "Dad!" and "Scott!", plus by the end of the film they have a Wasp III lined up to replace her...) Worst of all, though, is the maudlin dialogue, which ranks among the worst in the Avengersverse canon.

Ironically, one positive of the film underlines yet another negative. Bill Murray shows up for only 10 minutes as "Kraylan", delivering all the sardonic comic relief you'd expect from Murray as well as some more sober notes and even a little menace. Besides making me want more Murray, this cameo only served to remind me how poorly Peyton Reid has martialed his supporting characters in the ANT-MAN trilogy. The first film had one of my favorite actors, Martin Donovan, as well as Judy Greer, Michael Pena, and Bobbyc Annavale, all playing random contrived nobodies, whereas in essentially every other Avengersverse film even the minor supporting characters are figures who have actually appeared in comics and could possibly end up playing some more significant role in future films. Murray's "Kraylan" appeared in a single issue of THE HULK once and I wouldn't even know that if not for the wonders of Google. The outstanding William Jackson Harper is in this one, as nobody important whatsoever, and I guarantee you we'll never see his character in another AV entry - what a waste. Corey Stoll, also from the first movie, returns in this one as (at last) a recognizable comic book villain, but he's used so poorly you almost wish they hadn't bothered. One considers the care invested in something like GOTG or INFINITY WAR or NO WAY HOME and then you look at the ANT-MAN movies and they just seem like they were conceived recklessly.

There is ONE thing about QUANTUMANIA that warrants a recommendation: the nuanced yet commanding performance of Jonathan Majors as supervillain Kang. Majors claims that seeing Heath Ledger play the Joker inspired him to start acting, and the association shows up viscerally onscreen. As played by Majors, Kang instantly ranks w/ Michael B. Jordan's DeathMonger and Michael Keaton's Vulture as most compelling Marvel movie antagonists - I think he's more interesting than Thanos, actually. Unfortunately, in spite of QUANTUMANIA setting up lots more Kang to come, recent news would seem to suggest Majors' tenure in the role may be short-lived. So again, this film's shiniest silver lining comes w/ a massive dark cloud.

A sidenote: QUANTUMANIA reportedly cost $200 mil and is approaching $500 mil worldwide in grosses. Marvel and Disney allege it hasn't and may not break even. Math was never my strong suit, yet even allowing that studios famously detach their advertising costs from the official budget - how do you spend over 150% of your production budget on promotions for an established brand/sub-franchise and still not break even?! I like Paul Rudd as much as anyone, but maybe skip the 4th installment...?

2.5/5 for Kang

[RCMerchant]

SISU: In the closing days of WWII in Finland, a Nazi squadron regrets harassing an old gold prospector who turns out to be a legendary ex-commando. A gory exercise in Nazi-slaying, SISU's violence is sometimes laugh-out-loud ridiculous; our hero isn't so much a Lapland John Wick as he is a supernatural manifestation of Finnish stubbornness. The whole movie is Finland advertising to the world, "Don't f**k with us." 3.5/5. 

I'm excited about this one. Trailer was a hoot.

Me too! 

[HappyGilmore]

Guardians of The Galaxy, Volume 3. Saw this over the weekend.

Satisfying ending to this trilogy. I can see them moving forward with some of the newer characters introduced and I'm sure we'll see some of them pop up in some more MCU films.

[JakeO]

A sidenote: QUANTUMANIA reportedly cost $200 mil and is approaching $500 mil worldwide in grosses. Marvel and Disney allege it hasn't and may not break even. Math was never my strong suit, yet even allowing that studios famously detach their advertising costs from the official budget - how do you spend over 150% of your production budget on promotions for an established brand/sub-franchise and still not break even?! I like Paul Rudd as much as anyone, but maybe skip the 4th installment...?

2.5/5 for Kang

Thing for grosses is that theaters and asian/european distributors take their cut if I remember correctly. So 200mil+probably another 150 in advertising, while depending on country/distrib they are taking 20-30% I think, China might be taking even more. And that's accounting for "lower" side budget, I think marvel usually spends for on ads than entire movie budget. Might be wrong on this, but I think I've watched some sort of breakdown why a lot of movies gross more than budget+advertisement but don't break even, been a long time.

[Alex]

A sidenote: QUANTUMANIA reportedly cost $200 mil and is approaching $500 mil worldwide in grosses. Marvel and Disney allege it hasn't and may not break even. Math was never my strong suit, yet even allowing that studios famously detach their advertising costs from the official budget - how do you spend over 150% of your production budget on promotions for an established brand/sub-franchise and still not break even?! I like Paul Rudd as much as anyone, but maybe skip the 4th installment...?

2.5/5 for Kang

Thing for grosses is that theaters and asian/european distributors take their cut if I remember correctly. So 200mil+probably another 150 in advertising, while depending on country/distrib they are taking 20-30% I think, China might be taking even more. And that's accounting for "lower" side budget, I think marvel usually spends for on ads than entire movie budget. Might be wrong on this, but I think I've watched some sort of breakdown why a lot of movies gross more than budget+advertisement but don't break even, been a long time.

As an accounting trick to lower taxes you get a film to post a loss. You can inflate the budget by paying huge sums to people who have no involvement with the film and give them a title like executive producer.

[Rev. Powell]

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES: A roguish bard (Chris Pine) gathers a group of adventurers to recover the artifact (and daughter) that was stolen from him in a double-cross. Likeable heroes, dastardly villains, a fresh-yet-familiar fantasy setting, and a lighthearted sense of humor buoy this highly enjoyable would-be franchise starter. 4/5.

[Jim H]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - The best MCU film in quite a few years.  Good characters who actually get meaningful arcs, a good villain, very satisfying conclusion, and it actually feels like an ending for them.  Quite enjoyed it.  A few threads are a bit stretched, but nothing feels pointless.  It's funny too, but doesn't overdo it like Vol 2 sometimes did.  Definite recommend. 

[M.10rda]

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES: A roguish bard (Chris Pine) gathers a group of adventurers to recover the artifact (and daughter) that was stolen from him in a double-cross. Likeable heroes, dastardly villains, a fresh-yet-familiar fantasy setting, and a lighthearted sense of humor buoy this highly enjoyable would-be franchise starter. 4/5.

I am glad you enjoyed it that much!

[Rev. Powell]

BALCKBERRY: A ruthless businessman joins a company of geeky engineers and turns their smartphone prototype into market leader Blackberry; within a few years, corruption and arrogance destroys the venture. Just as funny as the similar recent corporate dramedy AIR, but with several advantages: it's prickly rather than fluffy, it's a satire rather than a commercial, and it has Glenn Howerton as a despicably hilarious hockey-loving villain in a pressed suit. 4/5.

[Dr. Whom]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

This has pretty much everything you'd expect from a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. With such a numerous cast of characters it is not easy to keep all the balls in the air and give everybody a moment to shine. This movie does just that, without anything feeling shoehorned in (well, not much, anyway). For once a 2 hour-plus movie that didn't seem overlong. Definitely recommended.

After Midsommar and now this, Will Poulter may find himself being typecast as an idiot for the foreseeable future.

[Rev. Powell]

MONICA: A transsexual woman reluctantly decides to return home to be with her estranged mother as she lays dying from cancer. Brilliant acting from Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson in this drawn-out drama. Not my thing but undeniably quality and will appeal to LGBTQ folks and arthouse dramaheads. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE: 15-year-old Miles Morales re-enters the multiverse, encountering new alternate reality Spider-men (like Indian Spider-man and punk Spider-man) while facing a new enemy bent on destruction and learning secrets about his own identity. SPIDERVERSE brings abstract and experimental animation---sub-universes as drawn by Chagall or Da Vinci---to a mass audience, while creating a completely involving comic epic; with this second triumph, this series establishes itself as Miles ahead of Marvel's live-action offerings. Warning: it ends on a cliffhanger. 4.5/5.

[Alex]

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES: A roguish bard (Chris Pine) gathers a group of adventurers to recover the artifact (and daughter) that was stolen from him in a double-cross. Likeable heroes, dastardly villains, a fresh-yet-familiar fantasy setting, and a lighthearted sense of humor buoy this highly enjoyable would-be franchise starter. 4/5.

When I read the bit that says "A roguish bard" my first thought was "No, they've released the official stats for the characters and he wasn't cross-classed". I may have been playing D&D too much.