Restrictions have eased all around the place but it’s only a matter of time before shit hits the fan again and right now more and more people I know are now getting the “spicy cough” regardless of all their precautions. SO here’s another list of movies to consider for when (not if) you go into isolation…
Men In Black: International (2019)
Ignoring for a moment that Aussie Netflix may have uploaded the South Asian version (much of the relatively subdued “course” language is censored, certain “offensive” elements blurred, and the usual celebrity cameo gag featuring someone no one in the west would know) it’s a shame this film wasn’t better.
This is Sony’s third attempt at capturing lighting in a bottle that was the original 1997 film and you can kind of see why they would try again so many years later despite two other failed attempts (even if I did enjoy MIB3). It’s actually a fantastic premise (or more specifically two premises) to relaunch a franchise on: what if somebody was smart enough to find the elusive “Men in Black” to want to join and also what if James Bond was an idiot and actually part of said organisation.
Unfortunately, this is yet another case of good ideas that are poorly executed, like really poorly. It expands the MIB universe in cool ways but then raises too many questions. There’s a great mystery being laid out before the audience but awkwardly so. Every now and then you can see where the money went on the screen and then some moments it looks like an after school kids adventure budget. And possibly the problem with mashing together two great premises is that one of them (Chris Hemsworth’s “H”) gets more development than the other more heartfelt one (Tessa Thomson’s “M”). So any depth and emotion this story may have is rendered completely inert.
Clearly this was rushed through based on the revelation of Hemsworth’s comedic chops and his chemistry with the always charismatic Thompson and while I can see the skeleton of a great movie, this was too undercooked.
It actually says a lot that no one has complained to Netflix about it being the wrong version but then again this was in December when I watched it so it may have updated by now.
The Harder They Fall (2021)
Westerns don’t really do it for me but this film is yet another genre that benefits from being seen through a different cultural lens…
And yes, African-American and Black America is a different cultural lens to lily-white Hollywood. It’s also not a new thing either, having done some digging, this harks back to the 1970’s “blaxploitation” cinema’s minor dalliance with the western, which this film alludes to and pays tribute.
However, it’s so far from its low-budget heritage as this is such a great-looking and polished movie, with a fantastic big name cast, and a solid compelling story. And as serious as it is, there is one bit of “commentary” that makes even Blazing Saddles look subtle. Perhaps it’s a matter of personal taste but I did get a little tired of “bad guys being bad guys” and I’m not a huge fan of the major revelation toward the end (although I get it).
It hasn’t swayed me in regards to my feelings towards the western but I really dug this one.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
Now we return to re-telling what was once a cool story in the most frustrating way possible.
This is so fucking stupid.
Admittedly, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on here, some great and interesting streamlining of the Mortal Kombat lore, and it’s magnificently graphic and brutal in that way that seems so unnecessary but you love it. However just like the previous instalment there’s way too much emphasis on “the Wolverine of the franchise”… Scorpion. So the actual tournament itself and the main hero of the games becomes the b-story because the movie spends too much time on Scorpion and Sub-Zero (whom are my favourites by the way but should be side characters at best) and gives them way too much to do in a separate adventure elsewhere.
I’ll be generous in pointing this out, I think someone did notice this imbalance too but it was so late in production that they could only re-do the last bit to make it less Scorpion-centric. The animation in that portion looks godawful like they ran out of money and the big climax was a mere whimper.
I’ll give it this though: it’s better than the live-action garbage they tried to peddle last year.
Encanto (2021)
I enjoy musicals but they can often be hit or miss for me and I took longer than I normally would have to get to this one probably for that reason.
Walt Disney Animation Studios have always tried yet never quite been able to capture the emotional depths of their characters the exact same way Pixar are known for doing but Encanto is the closest to achieving that. This is a gorgeous film full of vibrant energy and a wonderful array of characters (possibly too many but your mileage may vary).
Just like Turning Red, this is another film with a different cultural lens about the pressures and unreasonable expectations of family, constantly seeking approval, and how deviating from said expectations can be met with disapproval (and if you overthink it, it’s also about entitlement and about how some people lose their way no matter their origins). It’s very well told and you care about the characters and of course the music is catchy and memorable (I never understood the internet’s gradual annoyance with Lin-Manuel Miranda but after this movie I think I get it now?)
I do just want to throw out there: no matter a person’s origins or trauma, that is NEVER an excuse to perpetuate harm (unintentionally or because you think you know better) onto someone else. That sounds like such a heavy thing to add to a movie like this but it’ll make sense when you watch it.
Fistful of Vengeance (2022)
I’ll always give a Iko Uwais film a go because I genuinely think he’s a charismatic action star but big OOF… I wish I looked into this one before giving it a go.
I didn’t know it until it was uttered in the first few minutes of the film but this is a sequel to the short-lived Wu Assassins from 2019. And, if I’m honest, I don’t recall what I thought of series (which I guess could be considered a good thing?), however Fistful of Vengeance is just terrible,
The story is trite, the dialogue is awful, there’s just random convoluted mysticism thrown about the place, the action choreography isn’t bad but it’s all shot very poorly, and despite the piss-coloured filter trying hard to look like a Michael Bay production, it still looks very cheap. It all smacks of trying too hard to ape elements from better movies from 20 years ago and falling horrendously short.
I don’t know why this exists and I think that puzzles me the most.
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
It’s funny how no one complains about remakes when it’s not based on something from their childhood that they’ve wrapped their whole entire personality around (looking at you, nerds).
Based on the Agatha Christie novel first published in 1934 and adapted multiple times on the big and small screen, it really doesn’t matter that the reveal at the end of Murder on the Orient Express is so well-known, it was fascinating to watch a new, modern adaptation of it. Also, if there are people young enough to somehow not know the iconic spoiler then remakes like this can bring the story to a new audience.
Kenneth Branagh is serving double duty here as both director and lead as the world-famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, in this thrilling murder mystery. As a period piece it looks sumptuous in conveying that old-world charm without creating a gritty world or a hyper-reality and all the performances from the cast of big names and familiar faces match the era-specific tone.
Although it seems to have its detractors, this is a really good contemporary retelling that streamlines a few of the elements and characters (because the original story can be quite convoluted). I does make me look forward to the sequel, Death on the Nile.
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