‘Hobbs & Shaw’ moderately improves on a franchise that needed extreme improvements

Posted on August 4, 2019 by reelentropy

The doubling never really gets old. Images courtesy Universal Pictures.

4/10 I walked into Hobbs & Shaw determined to enjoy it, because I love the personnel involved and it’s a great idea for a spinoff. I wanted to see a Fast/Furious movie that felt fresh again. But unfortunately, this movie is over-produced to the point that it isn’t what I wanted it to be anymore, and I cannot in good conscience recommend it.

In Fast & Furious presents: Hobbs & Shaw, MI6 agent Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby) injects herself with a deadly virus to keep it away from Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a biomechanically enhanced black ops agent who fancies himself as the next phase of human evolution and, as an extension of that, wants to kill everyone. The CIA calls in Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson, who also produces), known as one of the best manhunters in the world, and Hattie Shaw’s brother, Deckard (Jason Statham, who also produces) for his personal connection to both his sister and Lore. The problem is Hobbs and Deckard Shaw hate each other.

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Once upon a film historian’s dream

Posted on July 27, 2019 by reelentropy

1969 was the year Al Pacino made his film debut in Me, Natalie. Images courtesy Sony Pictures Releasing.

7/10 I’m sure writer/director/producer Quentin Tarantino enjoys Once Upon a Time in Hollywood very much.

Once upon a time in Hollywood – Feb. 8, 1969 to be exact – TV cowboy Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) tries and fails to transition to the movies in an attempt to hold on to a fading career. The film walks us through a day in the life of Dalton on the set of “Lancer,” one of the various television shows he’s taken hired work for as a villain of the week, and his erstwhile stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), who discovers Charles Manson’s cult squatting on Spahn Ranch. Also, emerging Hollywood star Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), Dalton’s new next door neighbor, does some shopping and sees a movie and says very little while the camera stares at her butt and bare feet.

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The Möbius strip- ‘Lion King’ breaks July records, ‘Endgame’ takes all-time crown

Posted on July 23, 2019 by reelentropy

Disney’s The Lion King stampeded into theaters this weekend with a $191.8 million debut, even higher than industry expectations. The picture immediately leaps to no. 6 on the 2019 domestic chart and sets opening weekend records for July and for PG-rated movies- Box Office Mojo

In the context of this monstrous debut, a look back on how much of a risk the original Lion King was in 1994- The New York Times

So, is the new Lion King live-action? No. No it is not- The Los Angeles Times

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Realism sucks

Posted on July 21, 2019 by reelentropy

Image courtesy Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

2/10 They don’t hit that initial “nants ingonyama” hard enough. They don’t hit anything hard enough.

In National Geographic’s The Lion King, Mufasa and Sarabi (James Earl Jones and Alfre Woodard), King and Queen of Pride Rock, give birth to their first cub, Simba (JD McCrary). Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Mufasa’s scheming brother who wants to rule himself, arranges Mufasa’s death and Simba’s exile, leading to the Pride Lands’ ruin. Three years later after a conversation with some clouds, an adult Simba (Donald Glover) returns to reclaim the throne.

The photorealistic Lion King remake takes this story, this musical about anthropomorphized animals which is covered in Shakespearean, Biblical and Arthurian overtones like thick Canadian syrup, and tries to ground it in realistic elements, such as lions not being able to make facial expressions or sing. It tries to do this while also repeating all of the iconic songs and moments of a movie so beloved that almost every individual moment is iconic.

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Stooges sling sillies in solid ‘Stuber’

Posted on July 16, 2019 by reelentropy

Images courtesy — oh, god damn it! Images courtesy Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

8/10 Stuber is so heavily composed of tropes that it would be barley intelligible outside the context of its genre, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In this case, the movie needles its strict buddy comedy confines while also giving a great cast room to shine.

In Stuber, Los Angeles detective Vic Manning (Dave Bautista) loses his partner Sarah Morris (Karen Gillan) in the ill-advised attempted arrest of dangerous drug trafficker Oka Teijo (Iko Uwais). Six months later, Manning gets tipped off that Teijo is about to make a major drop, but this comes a few hours after Manning has major eye surgery. Unable to drive himself downtown, he summons an Uber driven by down-on-his luck retail worker Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) and essentially kidnaps him for a last-minute investigation that takes them all across the greater Los Angeles area. Along the way, Manning forces Stu to confront his lack of integrity.

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