Movie Review - Thunderbolts*

Director: Jake Schreier
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure
Runtime: 127 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Lewis Pullman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko
 
Description: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must go on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
 
Review: Yelena, Black Widow’s sister, leads and empty and useless existence filled with running errands for the current CIA director, Valentina Alegra de Fontaine. When Yelena is sent to stop a thief who wants to crack a safe containing secrets that must never see the light of day, things turn our differently than expected.

After a short opening scene, which introduce both Yelena’s fighting skills and her depression, Yelena is sent to the safe, located somewhere in the American desert. The film then takes place around that location for over an hour. To keep this interesting, no openings to other dimensions are needed, no do entire areas need to be razed to the ground. The conflict is clear and simple, and the characters are diverse enough for amusing interaction.

In addition to Yelena, we see Taskmaster and The Red Guardian (all three introduced in “Black Widow”), John Walker joins the party as second-hand Captain America, and Bucky Barnes shows up as Winter Soldier. But even if this is your first Marvel movie, it’s pretty clear that these characters have a history.

There is also a character named Bob, introduced as a clumsy, everyday man. But he becomes more important as the story goes along. And Bob is incidentally also a big part of the theme: dealing with depression. This superhero story successfully addresses that subject.

Even though the characters are diverse, we don’t get to know each of them well enough. Ava Starr aka Ghost, for example, stays a bit on the surface. Would’ve liked to get to know her a little better too.
The threat in this film is big, but its only present for a short time. I think the final conflict could have been stretched out. “Thunderbolts” would have benefited from a longer runtime.

The Thunderbolts, being renamed the New Avengers, will be back. And I’m kind of excited about it. I enjoyed “Thunderbolts” a lot more then I expected, I wasn’t really interested when it was announced.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 23: A FILM THAT’S PART OF A SERIES OR FRANCHISE
 
Description: The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mounr the death of King T’Challa.

Review: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the long-awaited sequel to the superhero “Black Panther”. This first film was received with mainly positive reviews and earned a lot of awards. Opinions about the sequel vary widely.

The film begins emotional, where the people of Wakanda are saying goodbye to King T’Challa. Actor Chadwick Boseman portrayed this character in 2018, but sadly passed away in the summer of 2020. So, the fact that there is a sequel without the main character is, so to say, very particular. And unfortunately, we could have done without this movie.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” feels like a film made out of respect for Boseman. Which is of course a beautiful thing and there is nothing wrong with that. But because of this, the humor that the first film had, is almost totally absent. Maybe for a fear of disrespect? And you miss Boseman, therefore the reason I believe this movie was not really necessary.

The film is also too long. With its almost 3-hour runtime, it’s too long to stay engaging and interesting.
One thing I did love, is the strong female presence. It’s, for the most part, female characters that carry this film. And Angela Bassett steals every scene she is in. Bassett is the strongest performer in the film.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Enough Said

Director: Nicole Holofcener
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Tracey Fairaway, Michaela Watkins, Tavi Gevinson

Description: A divorced woman (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who decides to pursue the man (James Galdofini) she’s in interested in learns he’s her new friend’s (Catherine Keener) ex-husband.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.

WEEK 20: A MOVIE DIRECTED BY A WOMAN
 
Review: James Gandolfini was never a big movie star. Nor did he ever wanted to be. He initially even refused the role of Tony Sopranos in “The Sopranos”. However, the role was right up his alley, of which he became convinced himself. After he accepted, he became famous, but still turned down leading roles in large projects and played mostly supporting roles or bigger roles in smaller films. When he died in 2012, he left behind only a small body of work. Not because he wasn’t a good actor. His portrayal of Tony Soprano alone proved that. And the small comedy drama “Enough Said” also does.
We meet divorced mother Eva. Eva meets Albert at a party, and from that tentatively emerges a relationship of sorts, blossoming through recognition, vulnerability and light disarming humor. It is that vulnerability and previous hurts and failed relationships that make both Eva and Albert insecure in this new relationship, which is therefore immediately compromised.
At that same party, Eva also meet Marianne, at that point not knowing it’s Albert’s ex-wife. They become friends. When Marianne constantly complains about her ex-husband, Eva finds out about the connection. She keeps it quiet to find out more about Albert, which starts to get in the way of her own perspective about her new relationship.
Thanks to the two lead actors, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini, their chemistry and the humor of writer-director Nicole Holofcener it’s a fine, intelligent film. The insecurities that get in the way of the characters retain their dramatic power and you are watching two real people, instead of characters written for film.

Rating: 4/ 5

20s Movie Review - Onward

Director: Dan Scanlon
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Fantasy/ Adventure
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Tracey Ullman, Wilmer Valderrama, John Ratzenberger

Description: Two elven brothers (Chris Pratt, Tom Holland) embarks on a quest to bring their father back one day.

Review: Modern means of communication and technology have not only alienated us from each other, but also drive away magic. Where you used to be able to save yourself from dire situations with a spell or simply turn on a light, the modern generations no longer have any use for this. Why learn difficult spells by heart when you can simple switch on the light with a button? The Lightfoot brothers are very different. The youngest, Ian, goes along with his time, but the older tough Barley longs for old times with wizards, dragons and an ancient struggle for life and death.
It's been a while, since “Coco”, since Pixar released an original animated film that wasn’t a sequel. The world of “Onward” is a mishmash of folklore, legends and mythical creatures, but brought back to the suburban life we all know. The Lightfoots live with mother Laurel in a giant mushroom house, but the once gracious unicorns are the scum of the earth looting the trash cans. As it turns out, the once mysterious lion-like warrior Manticore doesn’t run a dangerous ominous pub at all, but is part of a commercial chain and has proclaimed herself as a brand.
“Onward” comes from the makers of “Monsters Inc.” (my favorite Pixar film) and its sequel. The comparisons between bizarre looking monsters and fabled creatures such as unicorns, elves, centaurs, trolls, dragons, cyclops and wizards are therefore obvious. Unlike series like “Shrek” that go all out to get as much as possible out of the extreme looks and characteristics of the characters, director Dan Scanlon keeps it remarkably modest. His screenplay relies much more on subtleties, such as the policeman with whom mother Lauren is dating and who smashes half the furniture with his big centaur but. It emphasizes the humanity of the characters and reduces the freak content.
Therefore, as with many Pixar productions, the world in which “Onward” is set is not its main asset, but merely a backdrop within which the story unfolds. Central to the story are the family ties. Ian and Barley lost their father at a young age and Ian in particular wants to know where he came from. When they accidentally discover a magic wand that can bring their father back, it is the earthly Ian who has the gift of making spells work. Bit of a shame that the magic stone needed for this fails and the brothers have to make do with only their father’s legs.
What follows is not only a quest for the only identical stone to get their father back, but also a quest for their true selves. Stripped of all the frills of magic and weird creatures, “Onward” is essentially a matter of finding identity. Ian is trying to connect with the popular boys and girls of the school and Barley is the rough-and-tumble type. The mission that follows isn’t just about defeating dragons and shaking off enemies, but is primarily about self-exploration. The fact that the magic is still in all of us is a nice additional thought.
Scanlon shows us a magical world, in which the ordinary is the most extraordinary. And vice versa: an ordinary world, in which the magic is the special. This approach works wonders. As is almost always the case with Pixar, each plot element has a clear function and nothing is forgotten or left out. Octavia Spencer in particular excels as the aforementioned Manticore who in turn has also forgotten what she stood for and has become a victim of consymer society.  
“Onward” is not up there with the best of the best, but it’s a movie Pixar can be proud of and I really enjoyed.

Rating: 3,5/ 5