Film: Fountain of Youth

 

GENRE: Action Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence and brief language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 5 minutes
PLATFORM: Apple TV+
STARRING: John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan, A Quiet Place)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Thor); Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars 7-9)
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, The Gentlemen)
WRITER: James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Amazing Spider-Man, Scream VI)
PLOT: Siblings join forces to find the Fountain of Youth, Indy-style.        

FULL DISCLOSURE: Looked like an Indiana Jones knock-off.

STORY STUFF: There are some good attempts to go all Indiana Jones or at least National Treasure but it falls short unfortunately. The sibling angle didn’t work for me. I like when they are trying to solve mysterious clues which has some good moments but when they get closer to the fountain, they seem to know exactly what to do without much thought. There are a couple good action sequences but nothing ‘wow’. It’s okay as a popcorn movie if you happen to subscribe to Apple.

ACTING STUFF: I like Krasinski as Jack Ryan, so I like his action stuff, but he is too goofy here and trying too hard for the Harrison Ford charisma. Portman doesn’t get much to do either except be a stick in the mud. Stanley Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) is always a welcome presence but he is barely in this; I don’t know why he signed on in the first place. I was also confused about Arian Moayed’s (Succession) role in this film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The action is okay. The special effects are okay. Everything is just okay.

VERDICT: Two and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You just want a film you don’t have to think too much about.
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Phoenician Scheme

Film: Mission:Impossible - The Final Reckoning

 

GENRE: Action Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence and brief language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 49 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report)
Hayley Atwell (Captain America); Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek)
DIRECTOR: Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible 5-8)
WRITERS: Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers, M:I - Dead Reckoning)
Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Tom Gun: Maverick)

PLOT: Ethan Hunt is back to save the world from nuclear war at the hands of the AI known as The Entity.        

FULL DISCLOSURE: My expectation was huge for this film.

STORY STUFF: I wanted to like this film more. I love this franchise; it is one of my favourites. If this is the end, then I think they did a good job wrapping it up. My biggest issue is that there were less amazing action sequences and less humour this time around. Even with the weight of the world always on Ethan’s shoulders, there is also some lightness that keeps me entertained. The plane sequence at the end is action-packed, although it reminded me of the 6^th mission. Underwater sub stuff is all about timing and suspense but not riveting like a car chase. On another note, I always wonder how one man can be so lucky and unlucky at the same time. There is a fun reveal about one of the characters that I thought was cute. This film is still entertaining as a wrap up to the series but earlier missions have been better (except for the second one).

ACTING STUFF: Cruise is great as Ethan Hunt but doesn’t get to be funny this time around; same goes for Pegg. I loved seeing the murderers row of ‘that guys’ in this film. Milchick from Severance and Ron Swanson from Parks & Rec were the standouts for me. Not a fan of Angela Basset (or her son storyline). There was one returning character I was hoping for and it was great to see him not only appear but be an integral part of the story (I won’t spoil it for you though).

ARTISTIC STUFF: The action sequences always look great. I was happy with the references and callbacks to previous missions but the clip show aspect looked pretty sitcom-y at times.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five (I’m grading on a curve)
SEE IT IF: You’ve seen the other ones.
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Phoenician Scheme

Film: Thunderbolts*

 

GENRE: Superhero Action
RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 6 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Black Widow, A Good Person)
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice); Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick)
DIRECTOR: Jake Schreier (Beef, Robot & Frank, Kidding)
WRITERS: Eric Pearson (Black Widow, Thor: Ragnarok, Transformers One)
Joanna Calo (The Bear, Beef, BoJack Horseman)
PLOT: The anti-heroes of past Marvel films team up to stop a threat.        

FULL DISCLOSURE: Mix of lowered expectations and hoping for good stuff.

STORY STUFF: I really liked this film. I personally think they should have ended the franchise with Endgame but this made me interested again after a string of ho-hum Marvel phases. The subject matter gets pretty deep with a lot of talk about depression and loneliness but they handle it incredibly well. If you look at the director and writer, you can tell that this is not your typical Marvel roster of behind-the-scenes talent. What I really enjoyed about this film is that the group stuck together for the majority of the time instead of splitting them off so they could shine without the others. It’s the relationships that are at the heart of this film. I liked the pacing and I’m glad there were a bunch of well-crafted funny lines to break up the seriousness. I do think watching Black Widow and the Falcon & the Winter Soldier series would be helpful to get a better understanding of a few characters but it is not necessary.

ACTING STUFF: Pugh is amazing. She is so captivating to watch as she taps into real emotion and character work that it almost seems unfair to be in a Marvel film. David Harbour (Stranger Things) is also bringing his A game with both comic relief for the group and powerful emotional moments with Pugh. And then you have Sebastian Stan just coming in like a rockstar in every scene. I did not like Wyatt Russell in the Falcon & Winter Soldier series but he grew on me in this film as his dickishness was necessary and also added some humour. Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost surprisingly doesn’t get much to do except use her cool fighting powers – I don’t get a sense about her character’s personality. And while I like Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld), I still find it odd to have her in a film like this. Finally, Pullman was maybe a tad too geeky but I still enjoyed his performance as Bob.

ARTISTIC STUFF: I like that there was a lot less green screen in this film. Way to use the Utah landscape folks! The mountain bunker and upper tower fight sequences were done incredibly well. There’s a point when New York is getting taken over by blackness and it just reminded me of a Spider-Man cartoon episode where black goo takes over the city with some humourous repetition. What I would have liked in this film is more of a soundtrack. I like Starship’s “Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now” but felt there should be a few more needledrops – maybe in Red Guardian’s limo. By the way, after a wonderful end credit magazine sequence, there is a funny stinger and then there is an important one at the very end. This one was more worth it than the past string of stingers.

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You are able to give Marvel another chance.
UPCOMING REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning