Movies

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is an ambitious movie. Perhaps too ambitious. It has a lot of world building to accomplish and that detracts from the narrative.

It did make me curious about the source material.

I honestly think this would work better as a series than as a movie.

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, Sam Spruell, Sasha Luss, Aymeline Valade, Elizabeth Debicki, Pauline Hoarau, Barbare Weber Scaff

IMDB Synopsis:
A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming

I love this third iteration of Spider-Man. It had the right amount of humor and action. We get to see the beginnings of the Parker Luck as Peter has to make choices about doing things with his friends or patrolling as Spider-Man. The Vulture is way more sympathetic than I thought he would be.

I tried to go into this with my expectations lowered, but recently re-watching Civil War took that notion away. Thankfully my high expectations were met and exceeded.

Plus – no origin story! We do not have to live through Uncle Ben dying and imparting the life lesson on Peter. At most, we get Peter telling someone that he was bit by a spider. That’s it.

Mid-Credits scene was good. But the after credits scene is a game changer for the MCU.

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Bokeem Woodbine, Kenneth Choi

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It Comes at Night



It Comes at Night is an emotionally and paranoia-driven thriller. The trailer is a bit misleading. It makes you think there are creatures that attack during the night (zombies? infected people?), but that is not the case. There is a disease running throughout the country and an isolated family is working to stay safe.

The movie opens with this family having to deal with the grandfather who is beginning to show signs of infection. Later someone attempts to break in looking for supplies. He, his wife and child are eventually invited to stay.

The story continues on with the new members integrating into the family and their chores. Everything is going fine until the 17-year old son finds the entrance open one night.

The consequences of this discovery show just how far people will go for their family when pushed into a corner.

The final scene is still sitting with me.

A word of warning – this is a slow-burn movie.

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Griffin Robert Faulkner, David Pendleton

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The Mummy (2017)

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This third iteration of the Mummy is better than I expected. We get a bit of an introduction to the ideas of Universal’s shared monster movie universe, Dark Universe. And we get a setup for Maverick and Jor-El to appear in many or all of the future Dark Universe movies

I do have to admit that my expectations for this movie were extremely low.

Nick and Vale stumble across the tomb of Ahmanet. Nick ends up freeing her and hijinks ensues. Ahmanet was imprisoned when she tried to bring the Egyptian death god, Set, into the mortal world. This movie equates Set with all that is evil: Lucifer, Satan, etc. Since Nick freed her, she needs to use him as the vessel for Set in the modern day.

The rest of the movie revolves around Nick and Jeckyl’s organization working for a resolution. Just at cross purposes.

Starring:Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson

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Wonder Woman

This is the best DC movie since the Dark Knight, in my opinion. Easily blows away Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.

We are introduced to Dianna as a child. The only child on Themyscira. Literally portrayed as a paradise island – protected by a magical barrier. We see her learning the art of war from her fellow Amazons as she grows older.

The Captain Steve Trevor crashes his plane into the waters off the coast of Themyscira. Steve’s entry to the island ultimately leads to Dianna joining him in “Man’s World”. His mission – to stop a new deadly gas attack that is not stopped by gas masks. Her mission – to kill Ares, god of war.

The movie starts out light in tone, but gradually darkens. First as Diana leaves the bright colors of Themyscira and enters the grey fog of London. And from there to the horrors of World War 1.

Any more would totally spoil the movie. And you should see this one in theaters.

I would say that Wonder Woman earns the dark tone it holds. It is set during World War 1, after all. But it does get back to a lighter tone at the very end. Not quite as bright as it was before Dianna experienced war firsthand, but not as dark as wartime.

Wonder Woman has taken some of the trepidation I felt for the upcoming Justice League movie away.

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya

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