Normally when a film comes out based on a popular property I
have at least a passing knowledge of the material, but I know nothing of the
story of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. When a young girl
finds she has a gift from her late mother, she needs to find a key to open it.
Her journey to find the key takes her on a Looking Glass/Wardrobe adventure
where she finds a magical world in the midst of a struggle and she is the
literal key to bringing peace to this world. Sounds more complicated than
lifting a couch cushion, which is where my keys usually wind up.
The story of Freddy Mercury and Queen’s rise to fame has been
in the works for quite some time. Initially Bohemian Rhapsody was
going to be a Sacha Baren Cohen vehicle, but his popular onscreen antics
brought anxiety to the Mercury Estate as they were unsure what he would do with
such a beloved icon. Eventually Rami Malek was brought on board as Mercury,
along with Bryan Singer as director. Singer was then fired from the project and
Dexter Fletcher, who will be directing the upcoming Elton John biopic, was
brought on to finish the film. It’s taken a lot of time and no shortage of
drama to bring this story to the big screen, but Malek looks the part and his
voice is amazing. This might not be the deepest story into the artist’s life
but I think it will make a fine film.
Last year I attended a festival and got to see a film I
thought would never see the light of day. Bodied is the story of
a young, affluent white college student who manages to break into the world of
underground freestyle battle rap, where your rhymes need to be as sharp as your
insults. This film was made to offend but it does so in an intelligent way and
the pace, humor and music is all incredible. The director told the audience
that he had received offers to buy the film, but his refusal to to cut any of
the questionable material (and there would be A LOT to cut) made things
difficult. It’s been over a year since I saw it and I’m hopeful that this gets
a decent theatrical release before going to YouTube Red, the streaming service
that bought the rights.
The story of The Grinch is so popular that it
is an adjective to describe anyone not in the holiday spirit. For example, if
Christmas music playing at a supermarket on NOVEMBER FIRST irks you, then you
may be called a ‘grinch.’ But the real Grinch is much worse than that! He’s
just a jerk, once played by Jim Carrey and now voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch,
who hates the friendly, loving inhabitants of nearby Whoville and wants to
destroy their happiness by ruining Christmas. By now you probably know the
story, but every classic gets redone so why not this one?
Years ago there was so much talk of The Girl In The
Spider’s Web, it was a big European hit and became quite popular over
here. Then the remake hit the states and suddenly no one cared anymore. The
original was a moody thriller with a great performance from Noomi Rapace and
the remake was a big, bloated movie that used the same story but wasn’t nearly
as thrilling, it just looked expensive. Claire Foy takes over the role of
Lisbeth Salander after playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown for the
past few years, so this is a change of pace. This one also looks a bit more
action packed, so it has my attention. In this chapter Lisbteth, the vigilante
hacker, finds herself up against a corrupt government and someone from her past
who is targeting her.
There’s an old school video game called Wolfenstein, where
you play a soldier walking around a castle battling Nazis and the evil
creatures they have created, it’s a very simple game. They updated the game
recently and I’m actually playing it now. Currently, my character is on the
moon, so they’ve expanded on the initial idea. Overlord looks to
borrow from the originals simple idea of Nazis being evil and doing evil things
and creating evil creatures. On D-Day, American soldiers lead by Wyatt Russell
(little Kurt!!!) get lost behind enemy lines and come across a compound where
strange experiments are occurring. This was supposed to be a prequel to Cloverfield,
but I believe it’s been altered to be its own thing. Either way, it looks
awesome.
When there’s literally a billion dollars on the line, you
better believe a series will continue indefinitely and that’s why we have Fantastic
Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Now the first was a fun
continuation/prequel to the Harry Potter series, but it had a few good
actors in roles that really didn’t fit them and I found it forgettable. The
sequel continues the adventures of creature researcher and writer Newt as he
teams up with his old teacher Dumbledore, who needs his help stopping the evil
Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp, who has been pretty much completely cut out
of marketing for this film. This also looks fun and casting Jude Law as young
Dumbledore is pretty great.
When a crew of thieves played by famous actors get killed,
their Widows come together for a heist in an attempt to get back
at the criminals and corrupt politicians responsible for their husbands’
deaths. This movie looks incredibly intense and with Viola Davis heading the
crew, you know there will some great acting in this update of an old British series. The supporting cast is pretty big
too, I expect to see some of these folks at the Oscars.
The first Wreck It Ralph was a fun adventure about a
video game villain wanting to be more than just the bad guy. Along the way be
befriends Vanellope, who is a glitchy character in her own video game and no
one likes her. The two wind up saving the day and become heroes. Yay! Now the
first took place in one arcade, populated by popular video game characters and
others made just for the movie. Ralph Breaks the Internet has the
leads discover a wi-fi router so they get to venture into the internet. Coupled
with the fact that this is a Disney produced movie, there’s pretty much a
guarantee that this will just be overflowing with beloved characters. I’m not
sure kids will get all the jokes, but this could be fun for everyone.
I haven’t seen a full Rocky movie and I haven’t seen Creed,
but I have seen the end of Rocky IV when Rocky went up against Drago
for killing his friend, Apollo Creed, in the ring. Now 33 years later, the son
of Apollo and the son of Drago will face off in Creed II. The
first was a huge hit and proved Michael B. Jordan was a born star (anyone who
watched The Wire already knew this),
so hopefully this is another positive step forward in his career. It’s also
nice to see Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone on the big screen.
During the Game of Thrones drought we are currently
experiencing, and will be in for the next few months, perhaps a new Robin
Hood will supply what people are looking for. It’s got intrigue,
arrows, swords and a big budget. Starring Taron Egerton as Mr. Hood and Jamie
Foxx as Little John, this looks like every other iteration of the character,
maybe a little more flashy.
I got to see another
film at the festival last year that was the super fun, delightful and very
bloody, Anna and the Apocalypse. It’s a Christmas zombie musical!
When Anna wakes up one day to go to school she finds that the zombies are
starting to take over the world. She and her friends must fight and sing their
way to safety. Without the music, this might just be another in a long line of
zombie films, but it’s a great time.
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