20s Movie Review - Spider-Man: No Way Home

Director: Jon Watts
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 148 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, J.K. Simmons

Description: With Spider-Man’s identity revealed, Peter (Tom Holland) asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.  

Review: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” begins where the previous installment ended. The identity of the New York hero is out in the streets and his reputation is blackened by videos from The Daily Bugle. This has such a negative impact on the lives of Peter and his friends that he decides to visit his friend Dr. Strange, who morosely agrees to use magic to make everyone forget that he is Spider-Man.

*** WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

This, of course, goes disastrously wrong, and the result is that a whole group of villains from other universes (the other Spider-Man movie series) enter the scene. From the Green Goblin to Otto Octavius.
Marvel and Sony flawlessly tap into the nostalgia of a generation that grew up with the Spider-Man films from the early 2000s. And it’s a delight to see some of the villains return. Dr. Otto Octavius is one of them, but seeing him wasn’t that big of a surprise, since he was in the trailer. Electro, who was in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, is a lot more interesting here then he was in the other film. And Jamie Foxx seems to be having more fun too. We also see Lizard and Sandman, who don’t have major roles but are pleasant additions to the group of villains. The real stunner though is Willem Dafoe, who surprisingly returns as Norman Osborne aka The Green Goblin. His maniacal face expressions and laugh really make him the great villain that he portrays in “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
The thing I most liked about the film was the return of Tobey Maguire and especially Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man from other universes. It would have been amazing if it was a complete surprise, but social media really ruined that for me with all its spoilers. But it was still a great moment when both of them entered this universe. And can we take a moment to talk about Andrew Garfield. Because, even though he is only in the movie for a short time, he was the highlight for me. I’ve always said he was the best Spider-Man of the three, even with his movies not being the best of the bunch. Garfield has the best comedic timing, he uses his intelligence to defeat his enemies and is the most confident and charismatic of the three. I like Maguire and Holland as well, don’t get me wrong, but I clearly have a favorite. And Garfield’s Spider-Man has a beautiful redeeming moment, where he managed to save MJ, reminding us of the fact that he wasn’t able to save his girlfriend Gwen.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” comes off as surprisingly dark and mature and that makes an impact. But there is still room for some comedy.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the best film in this series, with Tom Holland as Spider-Man, who again does a very good job. The film has a character-driven plot, which I loved, and I enjoyed the returning characters. This movie put a smile on my face.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - Soul

Director: Pete Doctor, Kemp Powers
Genre: Family/ Adventure/ Animation
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett

Description: After landing the gig of a lifetime, A New York jazz pianist (Jamie Foxx) suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.

Review: The Disney Pixar animation film “Soul” became the ‘victim’ of the Covid pandemic. Because due to the closure of cinemas, the release schedule was turned upside down. “Soul” was released directly on the streaming platform Disney+. And you didn’t have to pay a ridiculous additional price to gain early access.
Joe is a music teacher who has dreamed of performing as a jazz musician for years. But disaster strikes when his joy at finally getting his chance on stage causes him to fall into a well. Joe ends up in a place, somewhere between Earth and the afterlife, where he manages to escape the final end just in the nick of time. He ends up in the Big One. Here he is given the task of preparing the old soul 22 to go to Earth. But Joe also sets out frantically to return to his body himself.
“Soul” deals with a heavy theme. It deals with death or rather life. Important questions that humans have wondered about for years are addressed. What is out purpose and what is the purpose of life? And what is there after death? The animators of “Soul” manage to create an excellent picture of the afterlife and the world before the final end. that something more abstract than Earthly life is animated. With colorful characters who guide Joe’s soul in his new task as mentor of the ancient soul 22.
Despite its fraught theme, “Soul” is also tremendously funny. Especially when Joe and 22 return to Earth and have a wacky adventure together. With that, “Soul” offers us a lot. There is humor and drama. One moment there are tears of laughter and the other moment it’s of sadness. This makes “Soul” not only a beautiful film, but also one of the Disney Pixar film of recent years. Not only because of the beautiful story, but also the animation and voice performances are stunning. A film that entertains and moves. But above all brings the message that life is short and you should enjoy every minute of it.

Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - Law Abiding Citizen

Director: F. Gary Gray
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb, Bruce McGill, Viola Davis, Regina Hall

Description: A frustrated man (Gerard Butler) decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family’s killers free.

Review: “Law Abiding Citizen” starts with a bang. When the happily married engineer Clyde Shelton opens the door, he is knocked down and forced to watch his family being slaughtered. No long intros, no build-up, we get right into it.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the prosecution messes up the case and the judge won’t accept Shelton’s testimony because he lost consciousness during the robbery. Prosecutor Nick Rice is also more interested in attractive deals than in justice, as a result of which only one of the two robbers is sentenced to death, and the other (the initiator of it all) gets off with a short sentence and will eventually be a free man again.
We skip to ten years later. Nick Rice now has a family of his own and is one of those present at the execution of the convicted offender. That execution goes terribly wrong. Instead of it being painless, the execution is as painful as possible. The next day, the other perpetrator is killed in the most horrible way possible and the video of this torture fest is delivered to Nick’s home address. The suspicion immediately falls on Clyde Shelton, and he is arrested. It seems like the end of the story, but it’s just the beginning. Clyde wants revenge, not just on the two bad guys who slaughtered his family, but also on the system.
“Law Abiding Citizen” is a highly original variation on the vigilante theme, which made a comeback in the 00s. And many with success ("Taken", "The Brave One", Death Sentence"). Citizens taking matter into their own hands, because the were abandoned by the court.
Originally Gerard Butler was supposed to play Nick Rice, but at the last moment he chose the role of avenging family man Clyde Shelton. Butler is really good and this film stands out because of on ingenious screenplay. It constantly misdirects the audience. But don’t think too much about the plot twists afterwards, because you will find a bunch of plot holes. Jamie Foxx is also very strong as Nick Rice.
“Law Abiding Citizen” is a fast, exciting film with a lot of violence but not hard to stomach. It’s not subtle or credible, but somehow that doesn’t matter. It’s a good, solid, entertaining thriller.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 87: Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright
Genre: Action/ Crime
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Flea

Description: After being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), a young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Review: Before I start this review, I have to state that director Edgar Wright is a genius. And as for many geniuses, the big crowd doesn’t understand him. His previous films (like “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End”) are examples of how a movie is perfectly edited. His films are never box office hits and he never seems to click with the average moviegoer. In my opion: Edgar Wright is one of the best directors of the moment.
Because of a constant ringing in his ear, Baby listens to music non-stop. That makes music not only a big part of the film, but also the story. Everything is accompanied by the music: every shot, movement, rhythm. And because of Wright’s perfect editing skills, “Baby Driver” is an amazingly synchronized and choreographed film. And that without it distracting from the actual story. Every song fits the scene like a glove and sounds like it belongs there.
Does the film have flaws? Off course, but they are so miniscule. Probably the motives of the characters, but that would be nitpicking.
The film opens with an amazing chase scene, where we see what Baby can do. One giant chunk of adrenaline.
When I saw the trailer for “Baby Driver”, I was sceptic about Ansel Elgort as the leading man. But boy did he surprise me. In a good way! Jon Hamm as Buddy and Jamie Foxx as Bats (the last being one of the most annoying characters of this year, I constantly wanted to slap him in the face) are also worth mentioning. The chemistry between Ansel Elgort and his on-screen love interest Lily James is very strong. Some might say it’s a bit too sweet, but it’s forgivable.
The script is simple, yet Edgar Wright turns it into what I can call the best film of 2017 so far.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 56: The Soloist

Director: Joe Wright
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Stephen Root, Rachael Harris

Description: A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.

Review: L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez finds a story, when he most needs one. The amount of people that read papers is decreasing and some journalist get fired because of this. After a crash with his bike and a short stay at the hospital, Steve meets a homeless man during his lunch break. This man, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, appeared to have attended Julliard School of Music and is a very gifted musician. A friendship develops between te two men.
The power of friendship and the responsibility that comes wit hit is very clear in this film. The British director Joe Wright (“Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement”) is shooting in Los Angeles and cinematographic this film is really beautiful. The film is based on a real story and Wright shot many scenes that were actually a part of Nathaniel’s real life.
The acting between Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx is great, but also separately they perform strong. Intense.
“The Soloist” is an overlooked film, it’s much better then I expected it to be and I think more people should see it. I love “The Soloist”.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Battle: Django Unchained Vs. The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino is, as frequent readers might know, my favorite director. He has made eight films now (counting both “Kill Bill” movies as one) and there is not one terrible film (“Deathproof” is not that good, but I’ve seen worse). In that line of great films, there are two westerns. And what if I let them go head to head. Let’s see who wins the battle: “Django Unchained” Vs. “The Hateful Eight”

 

 

ACTORS

Django Unchained: Jamie Foxx stars and does a good job in portraying the lead character Django. He is very well supported by Christoph Waltz, who played Dr. King Schultz and won an Academy Award for his performance. Samuel L. Jackson plays the very unlikeable Stephen, who is probably the most racist bastard in the entire film. And Leonardo DiCaprio as villain Calvin Candy, who shows us he can play a bad guy like no one else.

The Hateful Eight: Samuel L. Jackson is the star of the film as Marquis Warren, he carries “The Hateful Eight”. Kurt Russell is good as John Ruth, but it’s Jennifer Jason Leigh who really surprised me as Daisy Domergue. She probably had the best part. We also see Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Walton Goggins and Channing Tatum.

STORY

Django Unchained: It’s a revenge movie, which is not new in the Tarantino repertoire. Look at “Kill Bill” and “Inglourious Basterds”. But it’s not a crime when it’s done right. The story gets more depth because of the interesting characters and the sharp dialogues.

The Hateful Eight: The story is fairly simple: eight strangers end up in a cabin during a snow storm and nothing is as it seems. But it’s the way it was executed. Almost the entire film is set in one location, just like “Reservoir Dogs” and the film is interesting from beginning to end. Again due to great dialogues and fascinating characters.

EFFECTS

Django Unchained: It looks very good, Tarantino did a great job and it looks like we are in the wild west. It has some great spectacle here and there.

The Hateful Eight: Hardly any effects needed. The greatest part is its simplicity and also the wide screen Tarantino used. You’re sometimes so close to the characters, that you can experience how small the room is they are in. This wide screen really does make a different.

WINNER

Both are not my Tarantino favorites, but they are very close to each other. I prefer “Django Unchained though.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 1: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director: Marc Webb

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy

Runtime: 142 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Colm Feore, Embeth Davidtz, Sally Field, Paul Giamatti, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones

Description: When New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) to save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones.

Review: After Spider-Man took on The Lizard in “The Amazing Spider-Man”, he has become a hero and peace has come to New York. Off course not for long. The powerful Oscorp has a lot of secrets. When boss Norman Osborn dies, he hands it over to his son Harry. When in the meantime Oscorp employee Max Dillon gets into an accident, he loses his humanity and mental health. Spider-Man has no time to sit back and relax.

This pretty much sums up the story of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”. In the two and a half hour runtime it’s mostly rough love scenes and action sequences full off special effects. The quality of the CGI is variable. It’s strange that they choose Electro as the main villain and not Spider-Man’s number one rival Norman Osborn. Electro doesn’t really contribute much. And not even to mention Rhino, whom I found ridiculous and he was only it for a few minutes.

It’s very obvious the actors enjoyed working on this project, which makes it a joy for the viewers too. But because the earlier series, with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, isn’t that long ago, it makes this newer series repetitive.

It’s the little details though that make “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” interesting. The secrets of Peter’s parents are revealed. It gives the man behind Spider-Man a history. And the film has some great action scenes. It also has catchy humor, human superheroes an very bad guys.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” never goes above average, though it’s entertainment level is pretty high. The movie is a bit too long, because it misses pace. Not Marvel’s best.

Rating: 2/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "Django Unchained"

With "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino delivered another masterpiece and created again some memorable and unique characters. Here they are.

Django Freeman
Played by: Jamie Foxx
Django has been soled as a slave and is seperated from his beloved wife Broomhilda. When he meets King Schulz he gets the oppertunity to find her and to get his life back. Django is a strongwilled man and does everything to get his wife back.

Dr. King Schultz
Played by: Christoph Waltz
Schultz is the one that frees Django and offers him a better life by helping Schultz as a bountyhunter. In return he will help Django find his wife. Schultz is a loyal man, with a strange sence of humor and he can outsmart anyone.

Calvin Candie
Played by: Leonardo DiCaprio
Calvin Candie is the owner of Candyland and he's the one that has Broomhilda in his possession. Although he is a very charming man, Candie is very brutal and relentless. He's a fan of Mandigo fighting, which forces two men two fight each other to the death.

Broomhilda Von Shaft
Played by: Kerry Washington
Broomhilda is Django's wife and she lives with Candie and works for him. She is obedient, because she has no choice. She wants to survive so she can reunite with her husband someday.

Stephen
Played by: Samuel L. Jackson
Stephen works for Candie and is the worst of them all. He's a snitch en extremely cruel. Although he's black himself, he can act like a racist toward fellow black people.

Favorite Character: Dr. King Schultz