Top 10 Most Disappointing Films of 2021

 Top 10 Most Disappointing Films of 2021

1.     Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

2.     Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

3.     Clifford the Big Red Dog

4.     Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

5.     Spirit Untamed

6.     The King’s Man

7.     Cry Macho

8.    Don’t Breathe 2

9.     Halloween Kills

10. The Forever Purge

Runner-Ups: Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Tom & Jerry, The Boss Baby: Family Business, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eternals

Top 10 Movies I Liked in 2021

 Top 10 Movies I Liked in 2021

1.     Ghostbusters: Afterlife

2.    PAW Patrol: The Movie

3.     Jungle Cruise

4.     House of Gucci

5.     Black Widow

6.     Antlers

7.     The Many Saints of Newark

8.    The Protégé

9.     Wrath of Man

10.  The Matrix Resurrections

Honorable Mentions: Stillwater, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run, Sing 2, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Flora & Ulysses, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

 

Top 20 Best Films of 2021

 Top 20 Best Films of 2021

1.     Belfast

2. Pig

3.     Spider-Man: No Way Home

4.     Last Night in Soho

5.     Raya and the Last Dragon

6.     The Mitchells VS the Machines

7.    Licorice Pizza

8.     The Suicide Squad

9.     King Richard

10.     Encanto

11.  West Side Story

12.  Copshop

13.  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

14.  Free Guy

15.  In the Heights

16.  The Green Knight

17.  The Night House

18. The French Dispatch

19.  Luca

20.  The Last Duel

Honorable Mentions: A Quiet Place: Part II, Nobody, No Time to Die, Dune, Candyman, Godzilla VS Kong, Demon Slayer: The Movie: Mugen Train (English Dub), Cruella, The Courier, Nightmare Alley, Cyrano

 

 

Licorice Pizza review

LICORICE PIZZA: 

A HILARIOUS AND HEARTFELT COMING-OF-AGE TALE AND A SURPRISINGLY REFRESHING DEPARTURE FROM TYPICAL PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON FARE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

MGM AND FOCUS FEATURES

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in Licorice Pizza

 

            Director, Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread) goes back in time to the 1970s in Licorice Pizza, the new coming-of-age comedy-drama that follows in the footsteps of such classics as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti. The film was inspired by Anderson walking past a middle school in 2001 as he observed a male student nagging a female photographer and is loosely based on the life stories of film producer and actor, Gary Goetzman.

            I’ve been a huge fan of Anderson’s work and this film certainly looked interesting to say the least. Whenever I think of Paul Thomas Anderson, I usually think strange and odd with a darkly comical edge, much like Inherent Vice or Phantom Thread, this film doesn’t have any of that and instead focuses on the awkwardness of first love and the innocence and struggles of adolescence. 

            Upon seeing the film, I can gladly say that Licorice Pizza is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had all year. The trailer made it look good and obviously with Anderson’s name attached to it I was going to see it even if it’s so drastically different from all his other films, but all throughout the movie I was getting wrapped up in the story and characters, laughing at its witty and tightly written dialogue, and kicking it with the soundtrack. 

            The film is set in the early 1970s and follows a teenage boy named Gary Valentine (Newcomer, Cooper Hoffman) working as a child actor who bumps into 25-year-old photographer’s assistant, Alana Kane (Alana Haim-Documentary Now!, The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience) and the two of them form an unexpected bond. Gary aspires to be successful as an actor or businessman and cause all kinds of trouble with his friends while Alana is on the fence of doing carefree things but also grow up into adulthood. 

            The rest of the film consists of all the wacky hijinks, adventures, and trouble these two get into while also learning important life lessons along the way. Through activities such as driving around and smoking pot, witnessing actor, Jack Holden (Sean Penn-I Am Sam, Mystic River, Milk, based on real-life actor, William Holden) jumping fire with a motorcycle on a golf course, and encountering a crazy and exaggerated depiction of real-life film producer, Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper-The Hangover trilogy, Marvel Cinematic Universe, A Star is Born (2018)), Gary and Alana form an unbreakable friendship…and possible romance. 

            The film also stars Tom Waits as Rex Blau, Benny Safdie (Good Time, Uncut Gems) as politician, Joel Wachs, Skyler Gisondo (Santa Clarita Diet, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, Vacation) as Lance, Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Perfect Couples, New Girl) as Momma Anita, John Michael Higgins (The Late Shift, The Legend of Korra, Big Hero 6: The Series) as Jerry Frick, Christine Ebersole (Amadeus, True Crime, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Lucy Doolittle, Harriet Sansom Harris (Addams Family Values, Memento, Phantom Thread) as Mary Grady, George DiCaprio as Mr. Jack, Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes) as B. Michael Reed, Maya Rudolph (50 First Dates, Bridesmaids, The Mitchells VS the Machines) as Gale, and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Step Brothers, Wreck-It Ralph) as Herman Munster actor, Fred Gwynne. 

            Overall, Licorice Pizza adds another well-crafted film to Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmography and a bold, funny, and heartfelt coming-of-age story with potentially star-making performances by its talented young cast, beautiful cinematography and production design that make the 1970s come alive in every shot, and a sense of nostalgia. Anyone who has fond memories of their teenage years can easily relate to something in this film whether it’s trying to ask someone you like on a date, doing stupid things with your buddies, or just simply by enjoying life, it’s the kind of film that makes you look back on your younger years and be like “Oh, I remember doing this at that age”. 

            Teenage nostalgia aside where the film truly shines is with its characters, you really grow attached to what is going on in Alana and Gary’s lives and the film sheds light on the problems that occur in their friendship and possible romance. At times, the film feels like you’re coming along with them on their little adventures through town and seeing them get into all kinds of shenanigans is quite delightful. 

            It really helps that the acting is top-notch especially from Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, both are relative newcomers, but this film showcases exactly what kind of star-making power they have and their abilities to carry the entire movie on their shoulders. Alana and Cooper are very likable and basically polar opposites of one another, a happy-go-lucky and playful child star who’s too cool for school and enjoys causing mischief with his friends and a photographer’s assistant who’s in this middle section between doing dumb things with friends and growing up and making a difference in the world, not once did I feel like I was watching two actors whenever they were on-screen, I felt like I was watching two people trying to make their friendship/romance work and with every outburst or sarcastic comment, they always figure out a way to help the other out in the long run. 

            Also, Bradley Cooper as this completely psychotic version of Jon Peters is something that must be seen to be believed especially after hearing the story Kevin Smith told about how difficult he was to work with on the unfinished Superman Lives movie, this is like a very cathartic and hilarious act of revenge on a pretty slimy Hollywood producer. To the point where it makes me want to see a Jon Peters biopic starring Cooper and another movie where Harvey Weinstein gets the same treatment.  

            The production design and cinematography for this movie is excellent, from the architecture of the buildings, cars, music, hairstyles, and costume design to simply how the movie is shot. I don’t know if there was some sort of camera filter or if Paul Thomas Anderson filmed it on an older camera, but visually this movie looks like it came right out of the 1970s that was delayed several decades. 

            I don’t know what else to say, Licorice Pizza has everything that makes a great film and can easily be considered the next American Graffiti or Fast Times. With its bold storytelling, compelling characters, phenomenal acting, and witty script, this is one Licorice Pizza you will definitely want a slice of. 

Sing 2 review

SING 2: 

SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Buster Moon and his crew of misfit performers are back for an encore in Sing 2 

 

            Buster Moon and friends are back for another spectacular show in Sing 2, the latest animated feature from Illumination and follow-up to the 2016 film, Sing. I remembered seeing the first film in theaters around Christmas 2016 and thought it was a perfectly decent movie for kids with a lot of fun songs and charming characters while also working in some genuinely heartfelt moments, though I hadn’t touched that film ever since despite owning the Blu-Ray.

            I did revisit the first film again last night prior to watching this one and…my thoughts remain the same. I still think it’s a fine choice for kids and families, personally I can only listen to Firework, Call Me Maybe, and Haters Gonna Hate so much before my brain explodes into mush. 

            Anyway, in the tradition of making sequels and franchises out of Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Minions (The latter of which comes out next summer!), it was only a matter of time before those lovable and furry animals from Sing would give their big encore show. While the idea of giving Sing a sequel didn’t bother me, the advertising certainly did, I got this trailer before so many movies this year (Mostly before family movies, but I also saw the Sing 2 trailer before films like F9, Free Guy, Eternals, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife which felt very out of place!) and constantly hearing Nothing’s Holding Me Back or that dreadful “What do you want with me?” song, My God that trailer got on my nerves with its choices of songs…second trailer was okay though! 

            Despite all that, I pretty much came into this movie with no expectations whatsoever, I mean, it’s a sequel to Sing, I can’t really picture anyone having high or low expectations when watching it. After seeing it…yeah, it pretty much gives what it promises, a nice, wholesome animated film with a lot of popular songs, familiar characters and equally familiar plot, and their show-stopping performance that pretty much overshadows the rest of the movie. 

            The film follows ever-optimistic koala, Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey-Dazed and Confused, A Time to Kill, Interstellar) and his all-star cast performing a live show at the New Moon Theater, but when a talent scout (voiced by Chelsea Peretti-Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live) tells him that they aren’t good enough for the big league, Buster rounds up his crew for a road trip to the big city and put together their greatest extravaganza yet. And what is their greatest extravaganza you may ask? A completely bonkers space show with Rosita (voiced by Reese Witherspoon-Election, Legally Blonde 1 and 2, Wild) hanging on a wire and flying, Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton-Kingsman franchise, Eddie the Eagle, Rocketman) learning how to dance-fight, Meena (voiced by Tori Kelly) falling in love with a male elephant who works as an ice cream vendor named Alfonso (voiced by Pharrell Williams), and Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johansson-Lost in Translation, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Her) trying to find and convince the world’s most reclusive rock star, Clay Calloway (voiced by Bono) to join their show while also outsmarting a ruthless record producer and media mogul (voiced by Bobby Cannavale-Will & Grace, Ant-Man, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) who would do anything to drop the curtain on them…and even drop Buster off a building (Yeah, this movie gets pretty crazy)! 

            The film also features the voices of Nick Kroll (Kroll Show, Sausage Party, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie) as Gunter, Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Secret Life of Pets 2) as Miss Crawly, Halsey as Porsha, Letitia Wright (Doctor Who, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Death on the Nile) as Nooshy, Eric André (The Eric Andre Show, The Lion King (2019), The Mitchells VS the Machines) as Darius, Adam Buxton (The Adam and Joe Show, Hot Fuzz, Stardust) as Klaus Kickenklober, Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Shaun of the Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Big Daddy, Jennifer Saunders (Shrek 2, Coraline, Minions) as Nana Noodleman, Nick Offerman (Gravity Falls, The Lego Movie 1 and 2, Hotel Transylvania 2) as Norman, and Julia Davis (Love Actually, Phantom Thread, Fighting with My Family) as Linda Le Bon. 

            Overall, Sing 2 doesn’t really do anything new with the formula, but fans of its predecessor and those looking for a cute little movie with talking animals and pop songs will likely get their fill. The plot is very standard and predictable (Misfit performers VS big bad corporation) and relies on a lot of musical genre tropes and clichés, but there’s still a hefty amount of visual imagination, humor, and very heartfelt moments to balance everything out. 

            It really is the movie equivalent to an encore showing where it’s like “Hey, did you like what you saw the first time around? Here it is again for round 2!” It doesn’t even try to be deep and meaningful and is more like an excuse to just have some fun and sing cheesy pop songs, but still with a very likable charm. 

            The climax on the other hand feels like a completely different movie altogether and I’m not just talking about the show (Which is spectacular and has some of Illumination’s best animation), but also the evil record producer pretty much trying to murder Buster Moon which is so completely insane and strange that you have to see it to believe it (Almost like a so bad it’s good movie just got stitched into this mostly harmless kids’ movie). 

            Aside from its wild final act, this film does mostly what worked in the first one, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. It’s a familiar musical comedy film but is also sweet and wholesome enough in its familiarity to warrant a watch. 

            If that’s the show for you then grab your ticket, sit down, and enjoy some manufactured but charming fluff. However, if you’re looking for a musical with brilliant songs, likable characters, and very bold storytelling that’s really going to change your life, then I’d suggest watching Disney’s Encanto instead. 

The King's Man review

THE KING’S MAN: 

DESPITE A GREAT CAST, MANNERS DON’T REALLY MAKETH MAN THIS TIME AROUND! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Ralph Fiennes and Djimon Hounsou in The King’s Man

 

            Director, Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) takes the Kingsman franchise back in time to World War I in The King’s Man, the third installment of the Kingsman film series, based on the comic book by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. The film serves as a prequel to 2015’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and its 2017 sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle and revolves around the founding members of the titular organization and the events leading up to its creation. 

            I really enjoyed the first Kingsman back in 2015 with its charismatic and colorful cast of characters, wit, and energetic fight sequences, it was a very pleasant surprise especially for a movie I didn’t really have any expectations for when I first saw the trailer. The critical and commercial success of Kingsman: The Secret Service led to the sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle which had a lot of entertaining moments (and even downright bizarre moments involving robot dogs, Elton John, and forced cannibalism) but couldn’t quite live up to its predecessor in the end. 

            Now, we come to The King’s Man with Vaughn returning to direct and in the places of Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong, we have Ralph Fiennes (Lawrence of Arabia, The English Patient, Harry Potter franchise), Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters), and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shazam!). Much like another 20^th Century Fox/20^th Century Studios project, The New Mutants, The King’s Man’s release had been delayed multiple times partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and even had a trailer attached to the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but little did we know we had to wait two years to finally see it, at least it didn’t suffer the same fate as New Mutants which had a trailer all the way back in 2017 and wasn’t released until 2020. 

            So, how does The King’s Man hold up and was it worth the long wait? Not really. I’ll give the film credit that the acting is solid and some of the fight scenes are a lot of fun, unfortunately the movie surrounding them is a colossal mess and kind of boring, which should not be the case with a Kingsman film.

            The film follows British aristocrat, Orlando, Duke of Oxford (Fiennes), whose wife is murdered after a Boer sniper attack during the Boer War which causes him to conclude that the world needs an organization to head off conflicts and wars before they happen. However, when some of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds plot to plunge the world into the Great War and kill millions of people in the process, Orlando alongside his recruits, Polly (Arterton) and Shola (Hounsou) must race against time to stop them before it’s too late. 

            The film also stars Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Amazing Spider-Man) as Rasputin, Matthew Goode (A Single Man, The Imitation Game, Downton Abbey) as Morton/The Shepherd, Tom Hollander (Gosford Park, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Bohemian Rhapsody) as King George/Percival, Harris Dickinson (Trust, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Matthias & Maxime) as Conrad Oxford, Daniel Brühl (The Bourne Ultimatum, Inglourious Basterds, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Erik Jan Hanussen, Charles Dance (Last Action Hero, The Imitation Game, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)) as Herbert Kitchener, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass 1 and 2, Nowhere Boy, Avengers: Age of Ultron) as Archie Reid/Lancelot, and Stanley Tucci (Prizzi’s Honor, Road to Perdition, Captain America: The First Avenger) as United States Ambassador/Bedivere. 

            Overall, The King’s Man had the potential to be an interesting prequel to the Kingsman franchise focusing on the founding members, unfortunately it misses its mark in the execution resulting is an inconsistent and downright dull mess of a film. I wouldn’t say it’s an awful movie as there are a lot of things to admire about it, but the narrative is very unfocused and cluttered. 

            It literally feels like several different movies awkwardly stitched together with no rhyme or reason. One moment it’s like you’re watching a legit war drama that you would probably see at the Oscars where Ralph Fiennes is overprotective of his son and doesn’t want him to fight in the war, the next it’s like a James Bond or Indiana Jonesmovie with very cartoonish villains, it shifts again to intense war sequences ripped straight out of 1917, and finally a stylized and bloody battle scene reminiscent to the previous Kingsman films, I wouldn’t mind any of this if they were integrated into the plot better, but as is…yeah, it’s a mess, no other way to put it. 

            Because of how inconsistent and jumbled together the film is, I often had to be reminded I was watching a Kingsman movie to begin with. I’m serious, had it not been for the title, the scenes at the Kingsman tailor shop, occasionally witty banter between the characters, and the whole “Manners Maketh Man” quote, it really doesn’t have much to do with Kingsman and is more like a generic World War I spy espionage film that just happened to have the Kingsman in it. 

            For the most part, the actors portray their characters well with Fiennes’ Orlando and Rhys Ifans’ delightfully campy performance as the scenery-chewing villain, Rasputin being the highlights. However, the supporting characters are very stock and while Fiennes, Arterton, and Hounsou give excellent performances, the characters themselves aren’t nearly as memorable or compelling as Eggsy, Galahad, and Merlin from the earlier films. 

            The action sequences are exhilarating to watch, whether we’re talking the intense and brooding war scenes of World War I or the zany, fast-paced, and stylized action that the Kingsman franchise is known for. But without a strong story or interesting characters then what’s really the point in watching it? Aside from maybe watching it as a mindless action movie to turn your brain off for, but it even doesn’t do that great a job at being one of those. 

            As you can probably tell, I did not get into The King’s Man that much and is definitely the most forgettable out of the Kingsman films. As divisive as Kingsman: The Golden Circle was, at least that movie is so strange and bonkers in the choices it made that I could still have fun with it despite its flaws, I can’t really do that with this one sadly. 

            There are a lot of things about the film that I admire, but the inconsistent tone, messy script, and bland characters kind of ruin the experience for me. Unless you’re really curious about it, I’d recommend skipping it and going to see Spider-Man: No Way Home again instead. 

The Matrix Resurrections review

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS: 

FOURTH INSTALLMENT GETS META AND A LITTLE MESSY BUT WILL LIKELY MAKE FANS OF THE LONG-RUNNING FILM SERIES HAPPY! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are back as Neo and Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections

 

            The gateway to the Matrix has been reopened in The Matrix Resurrections, the highly anticipated fourth installment of the Matrix franchise and follow-up to 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions. This marks the first Matrix film not to be directed by both of The Wachowskis with Lana Wachowski (Bound, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas) helming the entire project. 

            When the original Matrix came out in 1999, it was a huge phenomenon and a gamechanger in not just the action movie genre, but the motion picture industry as a whole. The film had groundbreaking special effects (Many of which still hold up today), exhilarating action sequences, and a thought-provoking narrative that proved action movies could be so much more than just running, shooting, car chases, and things blowing up. 

            Because of its success, the film spawned two back-to-back sequels both released in 2003, The Matrix Reloadedand The Matrix Revolutions, which had a lot of potential, but sadly fell short of people’s expectations. They still had spectacular action scenes and dabbled into some interesting ideas, unfortunately, it resulted in a very disappointing conclusion to The Matrix trilogy…or so we thought. 

            That’s where The Matrix Resurrections comes in with Keanu Reeves (Bill & Ted trilogy, Speed, John Wick trilogy) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Memento, Chocolat, Jessica Jones) reprising their roles as Thomas Anderson/Neo and Trinity, which seemed to have come out of nowhere and was hyped once the news broke out that a fourth film was being made. I was excited to see a new Matrix film in theaters (Though, it is also available on HBO Max if one desires!) but I also expressed some concern, mostly because of the subtitle “Resurrections” which is such a clichéd sequel title and usually not a good sign when it comes to franchises (Remember Alien: Resurrection?). 

            Upon seeing it, I can say about the first half of this movie is great and they even play around with very meta and self-aware material that cleverly hints whether or not the events of the previous films actually happened and was almost like a Matrix version of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which I found to be a lot more fascinating than whatever the previous sequels tried to do, but then the rest of the film is just kind of okay. 

            The Matrix Resurrections is an improvement over the last film, and I like the basic setup of this movie a lot, but somewhere in the middle it becomes overly complicated with a ton of exposition being thrown at you and a few really stupid moments, but the acting is solid and the ideas it explores are interesting to see unfold, even if they don’t quite follow through with them. 

            The film follows Mr. Anderson AKA Neo, now working as a successful video game developer and creator of games based on his dreams in the Matrix. However, when he runs into a woman named Tiffany at a coffee shop one day, who bears a striking resemblance to Trinity, Neo starts having trouble separating dreams from reality and must return to the Matrix in order to determine whether his life is a physical or mental construct, but a lot has changed since his last venture into the Matrix. 

            The film also stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Candyman (2021)) replacing Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Marvel Television Universe) as Bugs, Jonathan Groff (Taking Woodstock, Frozen franchise, Hamilton) replacing Hugo Weaving as Smith, Neil Patrick Harris (Harold & Kumar trilogy, How I Met Your Mother, A Series of Unfortunate Events) as The Analyst, Priyanka Chopra (We Can Be Heroes, Citadel, Cowboy Ninja Viking) as Sati, Jada Pinkett Smith (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, The Nutty Professor (1996), Princess Mononoke) reprising her role as Niobe, and Lambert Wilson (Timeline, Sahara, Ernest & Celestine) reprising his role as The Merovingian. 

            Overall, The Matrix Resurrections is a flawed but fun blockbuster that has just enough intelligence to balance out its mindless action, even if it pales in comparison to the 1999 original. I got a huge kick out of the meta and self-aware commentary of the first half of the film which could have been a movie all its own, but that plot point gets abandoned around the time Neo goes back into the Matrix and it never gets brought up again which I was personally very disappointed by. 

            It’s the kind of film that starts off strong, but at the midway point it loses some of that momentum while gaining a little bit back during the climax. I just wished they followed through with these ingenious ideas or at the very least devoted an entire movie to them.  

            The action is very exhilarating like in all the other Matrix films, while the special effects on the other hand are a mixed bag. Some of them look quite good (Even though none of them are on par with the original) and other times they look like rejects from the Enter the Matrix video game or leftover effects from the Star Wars prequels. 

            Most of the acting is top-notch especially from Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as Neo and Trinity who I think have improved greatly since the earlier films. Not saying they were bad in the previous movies, but some of their dialogue and line delivery felt a little wooden whereas here they add some more charisma and charm to their characters and it’s just so cool to see these two reprise their roles after so many years. Besides them, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jonathan Groff are decent replacements for Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving as Morpheus and Smith, though I personally prefer Fishburne and Weaving, Abdul-Mateen II and Groff put their all into it. 

            The pacing, plot structure, and runtime are what kills the movie for me a little, it commits the crime of telling rather than showing, which is something I gave a few Christopher Nolan screenplays a lot of flak for when done incorrectly. There is so much exposition-dumping in this film while plenty of it could have been shown visually instead of overflowing the audience with information that just isn’t that interesting! 

            The film feels very stitched together in editing, it feels like a movie that tries to do too much at once to the point where it becomes unfocused. With that said, I think there’s more good elements in this film than bad. 

            The Matrix Resurrections is a very divisive movie, but there’s enough in here to admire and experience in theaters…or maybe a second time in IMAX. It won’t win everyone over, but those nostalgic for the Matrix franchise will find things to like about it. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home review

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME: 

NOT ONLY A GREAT SPIDER-MAN MOVIE, BUT A LOVE LETTER TO THE WEB-SLINGER’S NEAR-20-YEAR HISTORY ON THE BIG SCREEN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES AND MARVEL STUDIOS

Spider-Man’s got some brand-new foes in Spider-Man: No Way Home

 

            Tom Holland (In the Heart of the Sea, Onward, Uncharted) is back as Spider-Man for a third swing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follow-up to 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. The hype for this movie was insane dating all the way back to the mid-credits scene from the last film with several discussions and fan theories about what the next film was going to be like, a movie where everyone knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker and one that embraces the idea of the multiverse (A concept that was already explored in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) with a group of iconic villains from Spidey’s rogues’ gallery going up against the MCU’s Spider-Man. 

            This was the first time I was extremely excited for a live-action Spider-Man movie since 2007, don’t get me wrong I enjoyed Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home a lot, but they weren’t exactly movies I was super hyped about. The previous two films were mostly just light-hearted coming-of-age stories that just happened to involve a superhero that were quite funny and charming, but they never felt that huge especially compared to other MCU films nor was there much at stake.

            That pretty much leads us into this film with Holland, Zendaya (Shake It Up, The Greatest Showman, Dune), and Jacob Batalon (Every Day, Banana Split, Let It Snow) reprising their roles as Parker, MJ, and Ned, and Jon Watts (Clown, Cop Car, Marvel’s Fantastic Four) returning to direct. However, they aren’t the only ones returning to the Spider-Man franchise as actors who have portrayed villains before in the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire and Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films also reprise their roles as part of the multiverse theme. 

            Okay enough build-up, what do I think of this movie? Honestly, while I may prefer Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse more, I think this is hands-down one of the best Spider-Man films we’ve ever gotten in any universe. The best of the MCU Spider-Man movies and on par with Spider-Man 2 and Into the Spider-Verse, it’s easily in my Top 3 Favorite Spider-Man Movies, because it gave me exactly what I wanted to see in the other MCU Spider-Man movies (Spider-Man doing big, epic things) with plenty of surprises along the way. 

            The film is set immediately after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home when Mysterio revealed Spider-Man’s identity to the world which puts Peter Parker’s responsibilities as a superhero into conflict with his normal life. He enlists the help of Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch-Sherlock, The Imitation Game, The Courier) to make it so Mysterio never revealed Peter’s identity through a spell that would make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man…it doesn’t go well. 

            It turns out after Peter botched Doctor Strange’s spell, it actually opened up the multiverse and unleashing a selection of villains from across different Spider-Man universes and into theirs such as Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe-The Boondock Saints, The Lighthouse, Nightmare Alley, reprising his role from Spider-Man (2002)), Doc Ock (Alfred Molina-Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chocolat, The Da Vinci Code, reprising his role from Spider-Man 2), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church-George of the Jungle, Sideways, We Bought a Zoo, reprising his role from Spider-Man 3), Lizard (Rhys Ifans-Notting Hill, Enduring Love, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, reprising his role from The Amazing Spider-Man), and Electro (Jamie Foxx-Collateral, Django Unchained, Baby Driver, reprising his role from The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Now, Peter must overcome his greatest challenge yet as five of Spider-Man’s biggest foes are out causing chaos and destruction in his universe with only his wits and support from his friends, MJ and Ned as he goes up against these new baddies to hopefully send them back to their universes, but he’s going to need all the help he can get. 

            The film also stars Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler, Crazy Stupid Love) reprising her role as Aunt May, Jon Favreau (Elf, Chef, The Jungle Book (2016)) reprising his role as Tony Stark’s former bodyguard and May’s boyfriend, Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong (Marco Polo, The Martian, Raya and the Last Dragon) reprising his role as Wong, Toni Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dope, Run) reprising his role as Flash Thompson, J.K. Simmons (The Cider House Rules, Juno, Whiplash) reprising his role from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Spider-Man: Far From Home as J. Jonah Jameson, Tobey Maguire (The Cider House Rules, Seabiscuit, Brothers) as Peter-Two, and Andrew Garfield (Boy A, The Social Network, Hacksaw Ridge) as Peter-Three. 

            Overall, Spider-Man: No Way Home honors the legacy of the character in a huge way with a ton of fan service without ever upstaging the already-established MCU Spider-Man characters. You can tell that Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon have grown a lot since the last film not just physically, but their characters as well with the three of them talking about colleges, jobs, family dilemmas, etc. and similar to the characters in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, you’re invested in just about everything they’re going through even before all the Spider-Man and superhero stuff starts happening. 

            The film has a lot of fun bringing all these Spider-Man characters from different universes together and having them work off each other and make jokes and callbacks to earlier iterations of the character, but it doesn’t shy away from the more heartfelt and emotional moments. Much like what Far From Home did for Spider-Man after Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame, the movie continues to explore the reasoning behind why Peter Parker does what he does, learns the whole “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” saying, makes bold decisions to save his friends and loved ones even if they involve sacrificing something he cares deeply about, and by the end I felt like the MCU finally has a complete Spider-Man. 

            I had a blast with this movie, and I do consider it to be the best of the MCU Spider-Man films, but I won’t lie and say it isn’t 100% perfect. Some of the characters’ motivations change spontaneously as the movie progresses and there isn’t much time to go into why, and also the MCU-style humor and dialogue has gotten stale lately and the film goes for these really easy jokes “Dr. Otto Octavius? That’s a dumb name, Tee-hee, ha-ha!” and referencing other MCU characters and events without saying their names (Big purple guy who snapped his fingers!), but the good stuff in this film is just too damn good for me to care…aside from the possible retcon of the Venom: Let There Be Carnage mid-credits scene…yeah, that sucked! 

            Spider-Man: No Way Home is the movie fans of the character have been waiting for and easily ranks up with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man 2 as one of the web-slinger’s best film outings. I’ll gladly swing back into the theater to watch it again, and again. 

Nightmare Alley review

NIGHTMARE ALLEY: 

GUILLERMO DEL TORO-DIRECTED NEO-NOIR THRILLER IS VISUALLY STUNNING AND ENGAGING, IF NOT A BIT OVERLONG! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett in Nightmare Alley

 

            Director, Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy 1 and 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) returns to bring a new vision of the classic 1946 novel and 1947 film noir to the screen in Nightmare Alley. I’ve never read the book, nor have I seen the 1947 movie (I actually had no idea this was a remake until after I got home from the theater!) so I won’t be able to do comparisons between the two films and book, so I will be judging from the perspective as a regular movie-goer and del Toro fan. 

            I’ve always enjoyed Guillermo del Toro’s work whether we’re talking Oscar nominees and winners like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, horror movies such as Mimic and Crimson Peak, and even dumb fun movies like Blade II and Pacific Rim. Much like Peter Jackson or George Miller, I consider him to be one of the absolute best filmmakers working today, with his distinctive visual style, imaginative characters and creatures, use of practical effects, and engaging stories; he pretty much puts most modern and mainstream filmmakers to shame with just about every single one of his films. 

            So, naturally I was hyped when this film was announced and I had just about every right to be, because not only was it a new del Toro film, but there was a huge, star-studded cast in front of the camera including Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, Marvel Cinematic Universe, A Star is Born (2018)), Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Carol, Thor: Ragnarok), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, The Lighthouse, The French Dispatch), Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Hereditary, Knives Out), Ron Perlman (Blade II, Hellboy 1 and 2, Sons of Anarchy), Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading, The Cabin in the Woods, The Shape of Water), and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011),Side Effects, Carol) to name a few. With such a powerhouse cast and an equally talented director, I thought this was going to be the best Guillermo del Toro movie ever made, and after coming out of it I can gladly say that it is…good! 

            This is definitely one of del Toro’s most ambitious films as it doesn’t have many fantastical elements or creatures and despite being called Nightmare Alley, it isn’t much of a horror film. There are creepy moments in it, but it is a lot more atmospheric and slow-moving than the trailers probably made it out to be, it’s more of a thinking-man’s thriller. 

            The film follows down-on-his-luck, Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Cooper) who endears himself to clairvoyant, Zeena (Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband, Pete (David Strathairn-The Bourne Ultimatum, Lincoln, Nomadland) at a traveling carnival and uses his newfound knowledge to craft his ticket to success. His ticket is to swindle the wealthy elite of 1940s New York alongside the virtuous and loyal, Molly (Mara), and con a dangerous tycoon (Jenkins) with the help of a mysterious psychiatrist (Blanchett) who might be hiding secrets of her own. 

            The film also stars Dafoe as Clem, Perlman as Bruno, Mary Steenburgen (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Elf,Step Brothers) as Miss Kimball, Holt McCallany (Alien 3, Three Kings, Fight Club) as Anderson, Clifton Collins Jr. (The Last Castle, Thief, Westworld) as Funhouse Jack, Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou, Syriana, The Incredible Hulk) as Carny Boss, Jim Beaver (Supernatural, Deadwood, Justified) as Sheriff Jedediah Judd, David Hewlett (Stargate franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Shape of Water) as Dr. Elrood, Lara Jean Chorostecki (Hannibal (TV series), X Company, Designated Survivor) as Louise Hoately, and Dian Bachar (Cannibal! The Musical,BASEketball, South Park) as Fee Fee the Birdgirl. 

            Overall, Nightmare Alley might be Guillermo del Toro’s most divisive film depending on whoever is watching it and I could easily see someone going into this expecting a horror movie like Crimson Peak or Mimic and being turned off by the slow pace and overlong runtime. However, those willing to continue forward will get a well-acted, thought-provoking, and almost-Hitchcockian thriller. 

            Despite the movie not feeling much like a Guillermo del Toro movie, it does look an awful lot like one in terms of the visuals, costumes, and production design. It has sort of like this Shape of Water tone except set in a carnival, which brings out both a sense of fear and mystery as well as wonder and the great unknown, and in my opinion, I think it works quite well. 

            The acting is excellent especially from Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, Cooper as this charismatic but down-on-his-luck man who’s trying to make a living while also hiding a shady past and manages to be both a compelling and intimidating character at the same time, and this film is also home to some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from Cate Blanchett…saying more would go into spoiler territory! Even the actors playing the side characters are quite memorable like Willem Dafoe as the carnival owner who enlists Stan and Ron Perlman with only a few lines of dialogue as Bruno improves the film just by his presence alone. 

            The plot is very character-based and dialogue-heavy, especially when compared to other del Toro films and relies more on atmosphere and psychological terror rather than jump-scares and gore (Granted, there is a pretty graphic scene at the beginning of the film where a guy bites a live chicken’s head off!). For the most part, I was invested in the story and not knowing what’s going to happen next, but I can’t say the same for the runtime. 

            The film is two-and-a-half hours long and boy, does it feel like it? It starts off great and ends great, but somewhere in the middle the film was starting to lose me a bit. Not to the point where I thought the film was bad, but had it been cut down to 2 hours instead, I think it would have been much stronger. 

            Nightmare Alley is the black sheep of Guillermo del Toro films, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. There’s a lot to appreciate on a technical level and from the acting as well as directing and while I don’t think it’s quite as strong as some of del Toro’s other work, I still think this is worth a watch if you’re looking for a more thought-provoking and intelligent departure from typical horror/thriller cinema, plus it also gave me an opportunity to shed some light on a smaller film before diving into the massive blockbuster that is Spider-Man: No Way Home.