A Trip to ‘The Lost City’ is Overlong but Still Fun (Movie Review)
Paramount Pictures’ The Lost City hopes to be the kind of adventure/rom-com that would easily score at the box office during the 2000s. Times may have changed (even without a pandemic), but movie stars should still be able to open a Romancing the Stone-type film for the modern era, right? The Sandra Bullock vehicle was even originally pitched with her co-star from The Proposal, Ryan Reynolds, in mind. Mr. Deadpool certainly would have had a different kind of character than the hunky but not exactly witty one Channing Tatum plays, but the truth is it wouldn’t matter either way. Bullock has always had great chemistry with pretty much anyone: Clooney in Gravity, Kidman in Practical Magic, and the cat from The Heat, to name a few. Plus, a scene-stealing Brad Pitt and a heel turn from Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe are fun bonuses. The action might be less than what Disney showcased in last year’s Jungle Cruise, but the laughs are certainly better. The Lost City hopes to discover an audience more interested in jokes than explosions anyways, although there are plenty of big booms too.
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During the 80s and 90s, erotic thrillers were a sound investment for any major studio. Films like 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Indecent Proposal were events. All but one of those films was directed by Adrian Lyne. Hard-R, adult-skewing movies were an active part of the cultural conversation. In the past two decades, Lyne has only directed one other film, 2002’s Unfaithful, starring Diane Lane. Lyne’s particular brand of highly charged sensual kicks could be considered a relic of a bygone era if they weren’t so well made and, frankly, memorable. Still, in an age overwhelmed by audience-friendly superhero flicks, could a simple story about a jealous husband and his promiscuous spouse top the box office like the movies that made household names out of Glenn Close, Sharon Stone, and Demi Moore? We’ll never know… okay, so actually we do, and the answer is no. Lyne’s latest will be debuting this weekend exclusively on Hulu. Deep Water pairs Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas: two stars ready to raise their body heat.
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. 
