Despite my first-ever job being in a comic book store, I am by no means a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) slappy. Don't believe me? I gave less-than stellar reviews of each of the last three installments - "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," "Thor: Love and Thunder" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
And with "Ant-Man" in particular, I haven't necessarily been a fan (read my reviews of the first "Ant-Man" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" here). That's why I'm happy - more like pleasantly surprised - to report that I really liked "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," the 31st MCU film overall and the first of the so-called "Phase Five" of Marvel movies. There has been a huge void in the "quality" department ever since "Avengers: End Game" wrapped up the Thanos saga in 2019. Sure, the pandemic had something to do with the MCU feeling completely stalled out in recent years, but it isn't an excuse that makes up for the mediocrity we've been served up - with a few exceptions - over the past few years. And this newest movie is imperfect to be sure, but FINALLY - after years of subpar films and countless Marvel series on Disney+ since 2019 - the MCU finally gets some forward traction, with one of it's most compelling villains yet, Kang the Conqueror. And suddenly, I'm interested again in where the MCU is headed. ***Mild Spoilers Ahead - Read With Caution!***
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The lives, careers and decades-long friendship between legendary author Robert Caro and legendary editor Robert Gottlieb is examined in the deeply-engaging, warm-spirited documentary, "Turn Every Page."
"If you're going to steal, steal a lot."
That's the under-riding premise of "Sharper," a slow-burning thriller about con artists conning other con artists, where nothing - and no one - is ever quite is it seems. Despite the movie leaving me with a feeling that it should have been more effective given the talented cast, "Sharper" still was an enjoyable if not infallible mystery. Knock knock. Who's there? It's "Knock at the Cabin," a shallow, shoddy and condescending thriller that I can already tell you will stand as one of the worst offerings of 2023.
Don't answer the door...you've been warned! Forget what you think you know about Pamela Anderson.
In an intimate, revealing new Netflix documentary, "Pamela, A Love Story" (streaming as of Jan 31st), the blonde bombshell who dominated headlines and Playboy covers for much of the 90s and 00's, finally gets to share her version of her life in the spotlight. It's an empowering and tender portrait of a girl from humble beginnings, looking back at her tremendous journey into womanhood and then motherhood, through successes, failures and controversies, as she - now in her mid-50s - attempts to reclaim the narrative of her own life. In "You People," a new R-rated comedy hitting theaters and Netflix simultaneously, a white man, Ezra (Jonah Hill) and a black woman, Amira (Lauren London), fall in love. All is good, until they are introduced to each of their families.
Here are some of the new films opening this weekend that were reviewed!
This weekend, the big theatrical release is "Plane," starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter. Then available On Demand is the new documentary "My Father Muhammad Ali."
Read on for reviews of both new films! Here's a "round-up" of some recent movies I've seen, including a repeat review of "The Pale Blue Eye," which is now available to stream on Netflix.
I missed seeing the #2 movie in the country this past week, the surprise hit, "M3GAN," (which just brought in over 30 million on its opening weekend). Of course, the #1 film in the world is still "Avatar: The Way of Water" (click for my full review) of that film). But these other movies are now in release as well: 2022 is nearing its end, and for many, it's good-riddance. The movie industry has shown resilience with some massive blockbusters this year, and a return to people seeing movies in theaters.
Well, certain movies. Be careful what you wish for. The industry has morphed into something that none of us expected, a landscape where films like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Avatar: The Way of Water" can still make BILLIONS of dollars world-wide, but where most rom-coms or other "adult-slanted" films that we're used to, like "Tar" or "The Fabelmans," aren't able to justify their budgets with theatrical income alone. And while many of the streaming platforms in 2022 are still losing money, we're still seeing some experimental release strategies as the studios try to navigate the changing landscape. Disney's "Turning Red" was a good little film, but one that made almost nothing when it was released simultaneously on Disney+. One of the greatest "see-it-with-a-crowd" films of 2022, Netflix's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," was shamefully only released to theaters for a seven-day run, before landing on Netflix weeks later. If anything, 2022 was another transitional year, as the movie theaters, the studios and the streaming platforms continue to forge their future business models. Not every superhero film was a financial success (see "Black Adam"), and while "Lightyear" and "Strange World" were box office disasters, "Minions: The Rise of Gru" made nearly a billion dollars. But 2021 did represent a return to movie theaters, and the future looks bright. With a slew of films from 2020 held over and released into 2021 and beyond, there definitely was no shortage of content in 2021 at the box office or on the ever-increasing streaming platforms at our disposal. |
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