‘The Batman’ Begins… Again! (Movie Review)
With The Batman, Robert Pattinson is the seventh actor to play the Caped Crusader, thereby eclipsing the number of James Bonds to hit the silver screen. Both made their live-action debuts in the 60s. Of course, there are way more Bonds films (26 official) than Batman (13), yet each new iteration has been an event. Director Matt Reeves (Dawn of and War for the Planet of the Apes) had been eying Batman: Year One for years, and while this 2022 feature is technically the Bat’s second year as Gotham’s vengeance-driven vigilante, that’s certainly close enough. Thankfully, that means we get to skip the overly used death of billionaire Bruce Wayne’s parents. If you’ve seen the trailer, you might have noticed that the dream of the 90s/early 00s is alive and well in Gotham City. To be fair, the character has always been kinda moody, so an emo Bruce Wayne isn’t the stretch one might have assumed. Think more My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge era, less Tobey Maguire’s dancing fool a la Spider-Man 3. So, let’s apply guyliner and tussle our carefully curated locks. After all, we have a city to save, Mr. Wayne! Continue reading ‘‘The Batman’ Begins… Again! (Movie Review)’
The Batman movie review title above says it all.
It’s January…Sundance time! The 
Over a decade since the fourth installment became the late Wes Craven’s final film, Scream returns to the sleepy albeit bloody town of Woodsboro. New directors and writers are ready to take a stab at the ultimate metaseries that changed the game for scary movies in 1996. Legacy actors Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette have returned alongside newcomers Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid. Twenty-five years after Sidney Prescott defeated not one but two Ghostface killers, can she still make with the stabby stabby? In 2022, will Ghostface have their own TikTok? Is #GutYouLikeAPig taken? One of the biggest horror franchises of all time has lasted three generations: from the slacker days of the nineties to the entitled millennials of the aughts. Now, the time has come time for zoomers to answer the call…
Time to dive back into the machine world, as The Matrix Resurrections opens this weekend in theaters and on HBO Max (for 31 days). Two decades after computer programmer Thomas Anderson followed the white rabbit, solo director Lana Wachowski (Lilly is not involved) and several key members of the original cast have returned. They’re older, wiser, and still quite knowledgeable of kung fu. Shot during COVID, this is the last major film of the year from Warner Bros. Keanu Reeves is sporting his John Wick look, but can he still do his Superman thing? How will newcomers like Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, and Jonathan Groff fare in the virtual world of green ones and zeros? Surely, Carrie-Anne Moss can still outrace any agent on her Ducati, right? One thing’s for sure: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II certainly looks like the best Morpheus cosplayer ever.
The Matrix Resurrections is obviously a movie that never had to be made, but I digress.
West Side Story, the second filmed adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, is, shockingly, legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s first full foray into the world of singing and dancing. Besides a USO number in 1941 and that time Kate Capshaw belted a mostly Mandarin “Anything Goes” in the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom opener, the Spielberg-verse has been sorely lacking in show-tunes. Finally, two decades into the 21st century, we’re being treated to an outright stunner of a picture featuring songs many know by heart and a story that’s both timeless and timely. Starring Ansel Elgort alongside newcomers Rachel Zelger, Ariana Debose, and Mike Feist. Rita Moreno, who won Best Supporting Actress in the 1961 original, also returns in a different but no less important role. The gang’s all here, so why not feel pretty instead of making with a rumble? Faithful, invigorating, and at the top of the heap when it comes to pure filmmaking, West Side Story is one of the year’s best films.
House of Gucci is the second film this year by legendary director Ridley Scott. The filmmaker is 83 years old and, like Taylor Swift, who turns 32 next month, has absolutely shamed my lazy butt during the pandemic. Imagine the fortitude to complete two epic-sized features (or, in Swift’s case, two Grammy-nominated albums and two more because #lifegoals) with an impressive roster of A-list talent. The true story of the Gucci empire through the turbulent seventies up to the nineties stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Jared Leto. The latter is unrecognizable under tons of makeup and ugly corduroy suits. Sadly, although the soundtrack includes George Michael, the Eurythmics, and Blondie, Swift’s tracks are absent because, well, she hadn’t been born for most of the story’s run time (Then again, Tarantino used David Bowie in his WWII-era flick Inglorious Basterds). Would this award-seeking film about the Italian fashion house earn one star higher if it included a montage of Gaga on the runway while “Bad Blood” played? Definitely. Regardless, Sir Scott had a full plate during COVID, so he can sashay away knowing he’s accomplished a ton.
Opening exclusively in theaters, Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City is the seventh live-action feature based on Capcom’s survival horror videogame series. Sony Pictures is relaunching a movie version just in time for the 25th anniversary of the Umbrella Corporation’s unhealthy obsession with turning the citizens of Raccoon City into zombies. Unlike the Milla Jovovich-led films by Paul W.S. Anderson, which grossed over 1.2 billion, 2021’s entry is a more faithful adaptation of the first two Resident Evil games. Both debuted on the original PlayStation in the 90s (Resident Evil 2 was recently remade in glorious 4K for the PS4 era). Will Crawl‘s Kaya Scodelario be the big screen Claire Redfield fans have been clamoring for? She definitely has a red leather jacket, so that’s a start, right?
Opening in theaters and streaming on HBO Max (for 30 days) this weekend, King Richard arrives just in time for awards season. The biopic focuses on a crucial three-year span in the lives of Venus and Serena Williams, their mom, their sisters and, the titular king/father played by Will Smith. Warner Bros. hopes to serve up a win with the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts & Sciences by releasing a feature that critics and audiences alike claim Hollywood too often doesn’t make anymore. The true story about a family from Compton struggling to survive the streets as well as the highly competitive tennis circuit would almost certainly be a bonafide hit in non-pandemic times. As it stands, WB should be more than satisfied that, regardless of the box office receipts, they’ve delivered one of the best family dramas in years. As for Smith, a third Best Actor nomination, if not a win, is undoubtedly in his future.
After several delays due to COVID, Sony Pictures is finally releasing director Jason Reitman’s direct follow-up to the Ghostbusters movies from the Reagan era, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. OG ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd had supposedly tried to resurrect the beloved series for decades but could never get a script into an acceptable state for the other cast members, most notably Bill Murray. In 2016, director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) released an all-female remake to theaters. The film was a box office disappointment made worse by fanboys who can be less than gracious towards women trying to play with their toys. For the record, I enjoyed the Kristen Wiig/Melissa McCarthy-led feature as much as the 1984 original. So here we are in 2021 with Ivan Reitman’s Oscar-nominated son, Jason Reitman, attempting to deliver more magic than jokes in a franchise that has had a tough time being relevant in the 21st century. Is this another nostalgia-focused attempt? More of what certain middle-aged dudes have been clamoring for? Not at first, and then, sure.
Spencer stars Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana Frances Spencer. Yes, THAT Diana. Fans of Netflix’s award-winning series, The Crown, will no doubt remember Lady Di having a blast at Buckingham Palace, jamming with her Walkman on roller skates. Pablo Larrain’s indirect follow-up to Jackie, another film about an extremely privileged white woman from another era, is about as far from the good times of that roller skating scene as one can get. More a gothic descent into madness than the fairy tale of the royal family, think Black Sawn, and you’re in the right ballpark. No amount of KFC buckets can hide Diana’s psychological torment on a three-day Christmas getaway at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, in 1991. As a horror fan, a lot of this is right in my wheelhouse. I wonder, though, how such a claustrophobic tale saddled with intentionally unflattering photography will play for anyone expecting a tasteful costume drama. 
Wes Anderson’s tenth studio feature, The French Dispatch, opens wide this weekend. Several regulars, such as Bill Murray, and newcomers like Jeffrey Wright fill the screen cover to cover in an unofficial sendup of The New Yorker. The news that Anderson grew up reading the Big Apple staple should shock no one. What might surprise, however, is how the film uses the layout of a magazine to tell multiple stories anthologically. Officially titled, The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, this is a Wes Anderson film through and through. For better and well, honestly, there is no worse to be had. It’s a delight. 
Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho opens this weekend just in time to deliver October scares in swinging sixties London, baby (I had to make with an Austin Powers reference, right?). The film stars Jojo Rabbit’s Thomasin McKenzie and Anya-Taylor Joy as two British women who share a link from the present to the past – as well as stunning period-era outfits, fancy cocktails, and a big butcher knife. Infused with wall-to-wall décor that amps up the color grading to eleven alongside punchy editing, there’s no doubt Soho is crafted by the same bloke whose previous work included Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Still, this is first and foremost a horror tale, a first for the director. His debut, Shaun of the Dead, may have included zombies but more laughs than scares. Are you ready for excellent mod-era tunes, dancing, and blood?
