Movies

Happy Death Day 2U

Not quite as fun as the original. Happy Death Day 2U gives us a bit of a genre swap. More SciFi film than horror.

We start off the film with someone else stuck in a murder loop. This transitions to Tree in an alternate reality in another murder loop. An alternate reality where her mother is alive and Carter is dating Danielle.

The cause of the loops is explained. It’s ok. But I would have enjoyed it more if there was no explanation and the phenomenon hit different people. Almost like It Follows.

Still this was a fun film to watch. I hope they can make a third film since the after credits scene leaves it wide open for another.

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine, Steve Zissis, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Missy Yager, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello

Synopsis: Collegian Tree Gelbman wakes up in horror to learn that she’s stuck in a parallel universe. Her boyfriend Carter is now with someone else, and her friends and fellow students seem to be completely different versions of themselves. When Tree discovers that Carter’s roommate has been altering time, she finds herself once again the target of a masked killer. When the psychopath starts to go after her inner circle, Tree soon realizes that she must die over and over again to save everyone.

Polar

Interesting tale of a retired hitman and the lengths his former employer will go to to keep from paying out his pension. A group of young hitmen going after the grizzled retiree shows a nice examination between experience and training.

It is a nice alternative to the John Wick series. The fight scenes are not as frenetic as John Wick, but still enjoyable.

When Dominic visits a school and gives a talk to a group of children is one of my favorite scenes. He shows then knife techniques and photos of a 3 day old corpse.

It does set itself up for a sequel.

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Fei Ren, Ruby O. Fee, Matt Lucas, Robert Maillet, Anthony Grant, Josh Cruddas, Lovina Yavari

Synopsis (from IMDB): The world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers.

Glass

Disappointing.

That sums up his movie for me. As much as I loved Unbreakable, this movie was just sad and ended on a weak note.

I liked how it started with Dunn hunting the Beast. I liked it all until they are both arrested and sent to an asylum.

We get the twist reveal of a secret society that eliminates powered people (whether good or bad) to maintain the status quo.

So … all 3 of our characters get killed at the end by this shadow group.

Just felt like a waste of time and money.

Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard

Synopsis (from IMDB): Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Sony did it. They made an amazing Spider-Man film!!!

We get the origin of Miles Morales. We get Spider-Gwen. We get Spider-Man Noir. We get Spider-Ham. Let me repeat that. We get Spider-frickin-Ham. Sounds crazy, right?

Get this. It works. The story weaves all these crazy characters together and hits some real emotional moments.

Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, Zoe Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicholas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine

Synopsis (from Google): Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Aquaman

Had some misses in the middle. But a good Hero’s Journey. Very King Arthur.

Of the recent batch of Warner Brothers DC movies, it is second only to Wonder Woman. But it does meander some in the middle. I appreciated the way Arthur’s young life is sprinkled throughout the film in small bits.

Aquaman is set after the events of Justice League. There is a mid-credits scene, but it is not needed. It basically tells you what you expect. Remember, if you do not see the body, they are not dead.

Synopsis from IMDB:
Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world. And prevent war between land and sea.

Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Ludi Lin

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman