Spider-Man: Far From Home Review

Possible spoilers ahead!

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” picks up a few months after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”  Facing a much different world than he remembers, and wondering where he goes from here, Peter Parker is burnt out and in need of a break from superhero life. All he wants right now is to enjoy his summer vacation in Europe with his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and tell MJ (Zendaya), how he feels about her.

However, Peter’s plans are derailed when he’s approached by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) to help Quentin Beck aka. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) fight the Elementals and save the world. At first, Peter turns down a spot on Fury’s team, feeling there must be someone better for the job. But when Nick Fury arranges for Peter’s school trip to visit Prague, Peter is left with little choice but to help out.

Unknown to most, during all of this Peter is constantly wrestling with the idea of stepping up to fill the void left by Tony Stark’s death, and the need to live the normal life of a 16-year-old high school student. But with the world in danger, Peter Parker must decide once and for all what kind of superhero he wants to be.

The theme of Peter Parker figuring out his superhero identity carries over from 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” where it worked rather well. But in Far From Home, Peter questioning himself gets old quickly. It goes and on and after a while it just felt like the film was treading water and hitting some of the same spots from the previous film. Doing this slowed things down for me, and I left feeling like this movie could have easily been 15 minutes shorter.

Something else I wasn’t a fan of was how gullible the filmmakers made Peter Parker in Far From Home. I can understand the character being somewhat naive, after all, he’s sixteen years old. But losing Tony Stark apparently took a large toll of Peter Parker because now he makes stupid mistake after stupid mistake.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Peter’s mistakes weren’t on a global level, but in “Spide-Man: Far From Home they all are. He even puts his own friends in danger multiple times. What makes it worse is that the other aspects of Far From Home are so good that it was like watching two different movies at the same time.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that this movie has plenty of other stuff too like. For example, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” delivers some of the best Spider-Man action scenes ever. There are several action set pieces, but the battle in Prague, in particular, was jaw-dropping. It really was like watching a comic book come to life. There are other great scenes in the film which will no doubt leave action fans happy.

As for the cast, Tom Holland continues to bring an incredibly likable charm to Peter Parker. The problems I mentioned earlier are not Hollan’s fault, they are the fault of the script. Here the actor nails once again the awkwardness of being sixteen. Everyone can relate to that moment when you want to tell someone that you like them only for something to go wrong. That’s where Holland’s best moments come, not under the mask but when he’s plain old Peter Parker.

I really like Zendaya as MJ. I think she adds something new to the part, even a little mystery. Thankfully she hasn’t been used as a damsel in distress in these movies. But I do wish the movies would give her something more to do. Or at least tell us something new about her. We actually know very little about MJ outside of school, I don’t think either movie has mentioned if she lives with her parents or with her Aunt Anna as she did in the comics.

Meanwhile, Ned Leeds continues to be one of the worst best friends in history. Sure he means well, but he always ends up causing more problems for Peter. I think Peter’s life would be simpler if he found a new best friend. However, one thing I did like about Ned in this movie is his romance with Betty Brant (Angourie Rice). Not only is this a nice nod to the comics (where the two married), but it’s one of the highlights of “Spider-Man: Far From Home”.

Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) looks great. I don’t know how they did it, but the filmmakers actually made the fishbowl head work. It doesn’t look silly, and some of his scenes are pretty damn cool. But his motivations were somewhat of a letdown. I mean, it all makes sense, but when it’s all revealed I was like “Meh.” Mysterio is by no means the worst villain in the MCU though, in fact, he may prove to be the most important villain this Spider-Man ever meets.

Coming in on the heels of “Avengers: Endgame” is no easy task. The shadow of Tony Stark looms large here and There were still question to be answered after Endgame. This film didn’t back down and it answered the burning questions with a super-quick explanation of the new status quo in the MCU. The way this is done had the entire theater laughing by the way.

Despite the few issues I ‘ve mentioned here, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is still a highly entertaining film with plenty of cool stuff. The action is far above anything we’ve seen before in a Spider-Man movie. Tom Holland is as charming as ever, and all the major characters show growth. Even the Aunt May and Happy Hogan mini-romance is fun to see. While this may not be my favorite MCU movie, it does prove there is life after Endgame, and that’s a very good thing.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” score: B

I paid to see that: The Day After Tomorrow

Between 2002-2008, your beloved TNU members held what was commonly known as “$5 Tuesday Movie Night.” These get togethers always took place at the Patriot Cinemas behind the Hanover Mall in Hanover Ma.

On most of these nights our core group consisted of: Laneit; his girlfriend/wife; John; Caitlin; Ali; and yours truly. But we also had a rotating cast of guest stars that would join us from week to week. We were like a modern-day episode of “The Love Boat” or “Fantasy Island.” If I remember correctly, there were at least a couple of nights when our movie night group had at least 15 people.

During our Tuesday nights, we saw all kinds of movies. Some of them we loved, and a lot of the movies we saw sucked. Sure, some of these movies were so bad you had to laugh and enjoy them, but every once in a while, a movie came along that was so awful that it makes me wonder why the hell we decided to see it. One of those gawd awful movies was 2004’s “The Day After Tomorrow.”

Despite having a somewhat decent premise, and a surprisingly strong cast, “The Day After Tomorrow” is one of the worst movies made this century. Now that may sound harsh to many, but there simply isn’t anything about this movie that I liked. For one thing, the are just too many characters in this movie.

Lets see, in “The Day After Tomorrow” there is: Dennis Quaid as Professor Jack Hall;
Jake Gyllenhaal as Sam Hall; Emmy Rossum as Laura Chapman; Ian Holm as Professor Terry Rapson; Sela Ward as Dr. Lucy Hall; Christopher Britton as Vorsteen; Arjay Smith as Brian Parks; Dash Mihok as Jason Evans; Jay O. Sanders as Frank Harris; and Sasha Roiz as Parker. And that’s just the main cast. There are countless other secondary characters I won’t mention.

The problem with a cast that large is that the plot can’t handle them all. Sure, Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal get some character development, but the rest of the cast get maybe a couple of lines of dialogue about their background. In the end, none of the actors are given much to work with, and this hurts the movie because we the audience don’t care if they live or die.

As I recall, Laneit and I were rooting for most to them to buy the farm. We didn’t care how they died, we just wanted them gone from the movie. Feeling that way about a group of actors is bad enough, but then came a moment in “The Day After Tomorrow” that nearly made us walk out of the theater.

Now, you would think the premise of the world freezing over would be enough of a Conflict to deal with. I mean, assuming you’ve survived the tidal waves, and everything freezing over, what other problems could there be to deal with? Why you need some wolves of course! At least four of them to run amok in the frozen wasteland once known as Manhattan.

Don’t worry, there is a logical explanation for this. You see, after Jake Gyllenhaal ’s love interest (Emmy Rossum) gets random blood poisoning (I don’t remember how), Jake and three random friends decide to jump aboard a moored ocean liner that’s in front of the library they’re stuck in.

Luckily they find the penicillin Emmy Rossum desperately needs, they try to get back to the library but can’t because there’s a pack of wolves on the ship. Not just any wolves mind you, CGI worlves that are hungry and want to eat our heroes.

I’m just guessing here, but my feeling is that the filmmakers spent most of their budget on the tidal wave and snow/freezing effects earlier in the movie. This has to be why these damn wolves looked like something I created in art school in 1999.

So if you haven’t seen “The Day After Tomorrow,” then count yourself lucky. This movie is everything that’s wrong with Hollywood. A CGI bonanza that means nothing because the script is so damn weak. And if you do decide to watch “The Day After Tomorrow,” just remember I tried to warn you.

Movie Review: Life

Possible spoilers ahead!

Aboard the International Space Station, crew members Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), Rory ‘Roy’ Adams (Ryan Reynolds), system engineer Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada), biologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), and mission commander Katerina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya), prepare to recover a returning Mars lander.

After successfully bringing the capsule into the ISS, the crew discover that they are now in possession of an organism that provides the first proof of life on another planet. From here on in, the ISS team maintain a strict safety protocol, in case should the Martian organism proves to be dangerous or deadly to humans.

As you can imagine, the discovery is big news down on earth, and the Martian organism is named “Calvin” in honor of an elementary school. At first, Calvin seems to be hibernating, but it soon begins to rapidly evolve in the ISS lab. Everything is going well, until one day when, following an accident in the lab, “Calvin” suddenly turns hostile and becomes an immediate danger to the crew.

As the astronauts aboard struggle to contain this new threat, there’s one thing they all agree on: regardless of what happens to them or the ISS, this creature must not make it to earth.

“Life” takes the familiar concept of people being trapped in a small space with an alien life form. That’s a set up that’s been done dozens of times, but creative filmmakers can find ways to update the status quo. This movie doesn’t do anything new, and because of that, the plot is highly predictable.

Maybe I watch too many movies, so I know what to look for. But only a few minutes in, I already knew how the movie would end. A few minutes later, I even worked out the sequence of events that would lead up to such an ending. This took away any tension the film may have had, and at some points, it even became funny.

I thought this movie had a ton of problems, but none of them were the fault of the cast. The three leads, Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson do what they can, but they and the rest of the cast are saddled with characters that are never developed during the film.

The only memorably character is played by Ryan Reynolds, but he’s basically playing himself. Gyllenhaal’s character never evolves beyond a reference to him preferring life in space to Earth. Ferguson is solid as the station’s disciplined and by-the-book Miranda, but all I know about her is that she works for the CDC.

The main problem with “Life” is the script. Beside the premise, the screenplay is sloppy, rushed in places, and without depth. There were points during the movie in which I felt like I was watching the third act of a movie. What I don’t know if there were cuts made during editing or not, but it sure felt like it.

With a great cast, a cool premise, I had very high hopes for “Life.” But sadly, this movie fell short of every expectation I had. “Life” is a sci-fi horror/thriller that gives nothing to its cast, and plotwide never fully realizes its potential.

“Life” final score: D

Trailer Park: Everest

Considering some of the talent involved, this movie could be good. But this trailer didn’t do much for me, and right now “Everest” reminds me of “Vertical Limit.” Remember that terrible movie?

“Everest” opens in U.S. theaters on September 18th, 2015.

TNU Box Office Rewind: Winner TBD

New release “Nightcrawler” and defending champion “Ouija” essentially tied for first place over Halloween weekend. Spooky, ain’t it?

Keep in mind these totals are likely to change later today, but as oi now, “Nightcrawler” and “Ouija” are tied for the weekend with $10.9 million. Open Road Films says “Nightcrawler” earned around $9,000 more than “Ouija,”but other outlets claim the low-budget horror movie came out on top for the second week in a row.

The matter will be settled when “Nightcrawler” star Jake Gyllenhaal battles “Ouija” producer Michael Bay inside a steel cage at WWE’s Survivor Series. Or when the Sunday numbers are leased later on Monday. Either way, it should be fun to watch.

Reviews for “Nightcrawler” have been fantastic (94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but moviegoers didn’t love the movie as much. They gave Nightcrawler” a “B-” CinemaScore, which likely means word-of-mouth will be mixed. With heavy competition coming from “Interstellar” and other heavy weight movies, look for “Nightcrawler” to sink like a stone in the coming weeks.

Playing at 1,902 theaters, the Nicole Kidman/Colin Firth thriller “Before I Go to Sleep” bombed in fourteenth place with $2.03 million. Moviegoers gave the film a terrible “C+” CinemaScore.

Meanwhile, “Saw 10th Anniversary” performed even worse this weekend. The re-release took in an estimated $650,000 from 2,063 theaters. Sounds bad right? In fact, that’s one of the worst debuts ever for a movie playing at over 2,000 theaters:

I hope our checks don’t bounce.

Your top five lunch specials this weekend:

1. Nightcrawler — $10.91 million

2. Ouija — $10.9 million ($35 million domestic total)

3. Fury – $9.1 million ($60.4 million domestic total)

4. Gone Girl – $8.8 million ($136.6 domestic total)

5. The Book of Life – $8.3 million ($40.5 domestic total)

CALL ME BUBBLE BOY!

TNU Box Office Preview: Hollywood gets spooked

As you may have noticed, Halloween is on a Friday this year. And this fact frightened Hollywood so much, that only two new movies are hitting theatres today. But if you want to scream like it’s 2004, there’s something for you too.

The only major studio taking a shot this Halloween is Open Road Films, which is opening “Nightcrawler” at 2,766 theaters. The thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a creepy cameraman who attempts to rise through the ranks of nightly news at whatever cost. “Nightcrawler” cost $8.5 million to produce, wich means it doesn’t need a huge opening to be considered a hit.

With little to choose from at the multiplex, moviegoers will flock to “Nightcrawler.” Look for the film to open at number one with around $12 million.

The other new release this weekend is the Nicole Kidman/Colin Firth thriller “Before I Go To Sleep.” The film is based on S. J. Watson’s 2011 novel of the same name, Sleep is the third release from Clarius Entertainment, the upstart distributor behind “And So It Goes” and “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.” You could say Clarius is still looking for their first hit Well, they’re gonna have to keep on looking.

“Before I Go To Sleep”opens at 1,902 theaters this weekend but it won’t make much of an impact. Critics haven’t been kind to the movie (39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and many people I’ve talked to haven’t even heard of the movie. Chances are “Before I Go To Sleep” opens outside of the top fieve with around $6.5 million.

Then there;s Lionsgate, who is hoping that moviegoers want to go back to the days of George W. Bush by re-releasing 2004 horror hit “Saw” in to over 2,000 theaters. The original “Saw” opened to a surprising $18.3 million a decade ago, and the series had a stong run for a few years.

The fun ride came to an end in 2009 when ” Saw VI” bombed in theatres. “Saw 3D” performed slightly better the following year, but by then audiences were tired of this franchise.

The re-release won’t even register with movie audiences. It should finish in eight or ninth place with under $2 million. I remember going to the theatre in 2004 for the first “Saw.” I didn’t like the movie then, and I won’t like it today. Why this movie is considered a “classic” by some baffles me.

TNU Box Office Preview: The Fall movie season is here!

The people have spoken, and the movie gods have listened!  After weeks and weeks of lackluster releases, the Fall box office is about to take off. This weekend sees two major new releases, kidnapping drama “Prisoners” and 3D dance movie “Battle of the Year.” Both flicks will battle it out for the top spot on the charts, but to be honest, it won’t be much of a battle.

The savage Wolverine is finally here!

The first adult drama of the Fall season is kidnapping drama “Prisoners.” The film stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal is opening at 3,260 theaters, Aside from the strong cast, the key to the film’s success is the strong marketing campaign. Ads for “Prisoners” have clearly established the movie’s plot, and the race against time to recover Hugh Jackman;s missing children. Also, the film’s strong performances at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival should help the movie. And, “Prisoners” is sporting a solid 81 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Couple of things you should know before going in: “Prisoners” is a very long movie, almost three hours long from what I’ve heard. This could be a major turnoff for casual moviegoers. But perhaps more importantly is the dark subject mater of the movie. This plot isn’t for everyone, and  is likely to keep some people away from the theaters, even die-hard Hugh Jackman fans. Even so, “Prisoners” should walk away with the number one spot this weekend, with around $25 million.

Is that a Hardee’s?

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“Battle of the Year” also opens this weekend, which should make 12 or 16 people very happy. The latest 3D dance movie stars Josh Holloway, and jackass Chris Brown. It’s amazing how popular he still is despite his endless legal woes. Haven’t heard of this movie? You’re probably not alone. According to IMBD, the movie plot goes something likes this:

Battle of the Year attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven’t won in fifteen years. Dante enlists Blake to assemble a team of the best dancers and bring the Trophy back to America where it started.

This sounds like an ABC Family movie.

Sometimes, you gotta dance.

“Battle of the Year” is opening in 2,008 theaters, but it won’t make a difference. You see, someone forgot to tell movie studios  that the dance movie fad has been over for ages. The genre hit its peak a few years ago, and more recent releases like “Step Up Revolution” had the franchise’s lowest opening with just $11.7 million. I seriously doubt “Battle of the Year” can match that. A $7 million opening weekend is more likely, and Sony should be happy with that.

 

In other news, the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” is being re-released in 3D at  318 IMAX theaters. Oz becomes the third movie to be re-released in IMAX in the past year: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” opened to $1.67 million, and “Top Gun 3D” debuted to $1.97 million. Don’t be surprised if “The Wizard of Oz” beats those openings, with around $2 million. I’m tempted to see it myself, but those damn flying monkeys still give me the creeps.

Look out, its Chris Brown!