Encanto (2021)

Encanto (2021)

 

7/10

 

Starring the voices of

Stephanie Beatriz

María Cecilia Botero

John Leguizamo

Mauro Castillo

 

Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard

 

I must be honest, it’s been a while since I watched a Disney animated musical and genuinely enjoyed the songs. In that area, Lin-Manuel Miranda delivered. Encanto is Disney’s 60th animated production, and it doesn’t try to set itself apart from the familiar fantasy stories we’ve all grown to know. It’s not like how Frozen carved out its own unique narrative or the comedy masterpiece that Zootopia delivered. Instead, Encanto is an average production with an easy-going story, making it simple to enjoy as Disney continues to deliver family fun.

The movie is set in South America and tells the story of the Madrigal family, led by Alma. During a tragic moment while fleeing an attack on their town, Alma’s husband, Pedro, sacrificed himself to protect her and their three children. His sacrifice brought about a magical door that blessed Alma with a magical home and candle. The candle, in turn, blessed her three children—and later, her grandchildren—with magical powers. However, things took a surprising turn when it was Mirabel’s turn to receive a gift: she didn’t get one. From this point, you can already sense where the movie is headed.

The story follows a predictable formula: the one person who isn’t blessed will be the one tasked with saving everyone. As expected, even though her family loves her and the community adores her for being cheerful, Mirabel is treated differently. She’s excluded from many things and must navigate life feeling left out simply because she’s different. The family’s fears grow when it’s time for her young nephew, Antonio, to receive his gift. Everyone worries he might not get one either, but he does—and Mirabel is once again sidelined. It’s during this moment of separation that she notices something troubling: the magic in their home is fading.

Now, Mirabel takes it upon herself to figure out why (without anyone actually assigning her this task). In her search, she reconnects with her estranged uncle, Bruno, who has been shunned by the family. Bruno’s gift of seeing the future caused conflict because people didn’t like the predictions he made, leading him to distance himself from everyone.

With Bruno’s help, Mirabel must uncover why the magic is fading and find a way to save it before the family loses their powers entirely.

Encanto is a good, fun family movie with musical numbers that are easy to enjoy. It’s not groundbreaking, which is likely why it’s now available on Disney+ instead of dominating the box office. The way the story unfolds is a little disappointing because it sticks to a conventional plot. It could have been so much more.

Disney may have delivered a musical wonder with a super simple story, but box-office hits often come from the unconventional. Still, you should give this a watch—and find out why we don’t talk about Bruno.

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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

 9/10

 Starring

Tom Holland

Zendaya

Benedict Cumberbatch

Jacob Batalon

 

Directed by Jon Watts

 

There were numerous leaks about the cast of this movie and the script’s plot. Well, I’ve finally seen it, and to avoid dropping any spoilers, I’ll just suggest you go watch it yourself to find out if those leaks were true.

No Way Home is one of the best Marvel productions out there and a bright light in the dark tunnel of the recent lack of truly solid blockbusters. This is the third Sony/Marvel Spider-Man movie in the MCU and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This movie thrives on the chemistry of its cast, the emotional weight it carries (which had me crying at one point), and its fantastic writing. The action and the way they blended all the different characters will leave you weak in the knees. The movie doesn’t waste time overloading you with theories. Instead, we just see Doctor Strange and Spider-Man mess up big time. The multiverse comes into play, bringing characters from previous Spider-Man movies into this universe—and we learn a lot.

Contains Spoilers

Each of Sony’s Spider-Man iterations has its own backstory, and that’s acknowledged here, with their villains breaking into this Spider-Man’s world. What’s cool is that the Avengers only exist in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man universe.

The villains and characters who show up in this movie include Dr. Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Green Goblin, Lizard, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), and Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield). However, it felt like there was a numbers game at play, as Electro (Jamie Foxx) was essentially wasted, while even Lizard had more of an impact on the overall story.

When these villains enter this universe, they realize it’s different and are willing to do whatever it takes to stay here instead of going back to their own worlds. Why? Because they were all dragged into this universe moments before they died.

So, how did this great mess occur? At the end of Far From Home (2019), the world learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Peter’s (Tom Holland) life spirals into chaos, affecting his friends and Aunt May. Desperate, he goes to Doctor Strange for help, asking him to cast a spell to make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man. As you can imagine, things don’t go as planned.

The more exceptions Peter tries to add to the spell, the more unstable it becomes for Strange to control. Eventually, everything collapses, and the spell pulls characters from the first two Spider-Man franchises (Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Trilogy by Sam Raimi and Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man by Marc Webb) into this universe.

Strange tasks Peter with rounding up the characters, as each of them is actively searching for him. Strange gives him a device to capture them so they can be sent back to their respective universes.

However, when Peter learns the fates of these villains in their original timelines, he devises a plan with Aunt May’s help to save them. Predictably, it’s one of those overly idealistic, do-gooder plans that everyone warns will fail—but he goes through with it anyway. The consequences of this decision irrevocably change Peter’s life in the MCU and have a huge impact on the MCU as a whole.

Sony and Marvel are already working on a follow-up movie, and I’m excited to see it. The ending of No Way Home directly sets up events that will carry over into the upcoming MCU Doctor Strange sequel.

 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

 

6/10

 Starring

Simu Liu

Awkwafina

Meng'er Zhang

Fala Chen

Michelle Yeoh

 

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

 

Marvel has been experimenting a lot with phase four, the post-Infinity Saga era of their cinematic universe. We’re meeting new, lesser-known characters while also getting more character development for those who’ve never really had enough time in the spotlight.

Shang-Chi is the 25th movie in the MCU, and one thing to appreciate is the diversity Marvel is bringing into its world of characters. This movie has a total Asian setting, a predominantly Asian cast, and no white guy swooping in to save the day. Even cooler, it’s directed by an Asian filmmaker.

For anyone planning to see this movie, here’s a heads-up: this isn’t one of those grand, masterful epics. The story is great and engaging enough to keep you watching, but it doesn’t hit the same comedic highs we’ve come to expect from Marvel. Why? Well, we’re already used to their style, so the funny lines and comedic moments don’t land as hard as they used to.

The movie starts off like a mediocre Asian action film. It begins with greed and evil, then suddenly shifts into romance before dropping us into the present day, leaving us to piece things together. About fifteen minutes in, though, get ready for some cool, Jackie Chan-style fight choreography. From that point on, the Marvel magic kicks in. Of course, there are flashbacks and soliloquies along the way to help fill in the gaps.

Here’s the basic plot: about a thousand years ago, Wenwu discovered the powerful Ten Rings, which granted him immortality and immense power. Driven by greed, he created the Ten Rings organization, which has been secretly shaping the modern world as we know it.

In 1996, Wenwu sought the magical forest of Ta Lo to obtain its mystical power. However, his quest was thwarted by Li, a guardian of Ta Lo. The two fell in love, and Wenwu gave up his power-hungry ways to become a husband and father. Sadly, Li’s death brought back the old Wenwu, and he trained his son, Shang-Chi, to become the best fighter he could be.

Fast forward to the present day, Shang-Chi, now going by the name “Shawn,” works as a valet with his best friend Katy. One day, they’re attacked by the Ten Rings, and Katy witnesses Shang-Chi’s incredible fighting skills for the first time. The Ten Rings are after a pendant given to Shang-Chi by his mother, Li, and they also want the one held by his sister, Xialing.

After surviving the attack, Shang-Chi and Katy set out to find Xialing and protect her from the Ten Rings. It turns out that Shang-Chi and Xialing haven’t spoken in years, and there’s a lot of unresolved tension between them.

Wenwu, their father, wants the pendants to find his way back to Ta Lo, where he believes a gate is keeping him from reuniting with Li. The siblings, along with Katy, must band together to stop Wenwu before he unleashes destruction on the world.

Shang-Chi is now available to stream on Disney+.

Red Notice (2021)

Red Notice (2021)

4/10

Starring

Dwayne Johnson

Ryan Reynolds

Gal Gadot

 

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

 

I’ll give Red Notice one thing: with three of the coolest actors in the cast, it hooked me enough to watch from start to finish. I didn’t see the first twist coming, but the second one (if you can even call it a twist) was predictable. And the ending? Just plain dumb. I’ve seen better setups for a sequel than this poorly wrapped package.

This movie was a solid five out of ten from the start. You wouldn’t think it could get any worse—until the first twist drops between two of the characters. From that point on, everything went downhill. The silver lining is that when the movie starts falling apart, there are only about ten minutes left, so you don’t have to endure it for too long.

The bottom line? Red Notice is a nonsense film that relies entirely on the charisma of its actors. Honestly, I’ve never been so eager to see more screentime for Gal Gadot than I was in this movie. There was just too much Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson. (Yes, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: too much Ryan Reynolds.)

The plot is pretty straightforward. An Egyptian billionaire is willing to pay a fortune to anyone who can bring him the three gem eggs of Cleopatra. The international thief known as The Bishop (Gal Gadot) is at the top of the wanted list for her crimes, followed closely by Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), another notorious thief.

Nolan goes after one of the eggs in Italy, but FBI agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) gets tipped off by The Bishop and teams up with the Italian police to catch him. They apprehend Nolan, but in a twist, The Bishop double-crosses Hartley, landing both him and Nolan in prison.

As it turns out, The Bishop orchestrated the entire setup and later visits the pair in prison. She proposes a deal: if Nolan, who knows the location of the third egg, agrees to work with her, she’ll help clear Hartley’s name and give Nolan a cut. They reject her offer, break out of prison, and decide to team up themselves in a race to get the eggs before The Bishop does.

Like I said, the movie had all the ingredients for a great film, but it lacked the story and strong direction to pull it off. The writing and directing by Rawson Marshall Thurber are subpar.

The only time the movie manages to be remotely entertaining is when all three leads are on screen together. Otherwise, it falls flat. You can catch Red Notice on Netflix, but don’t set your expectations too high.

Finch (2021)

Finch (2021)

7/10

Starring

Tom Hanks

 

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik

 

Finch is one of those movies that just flows effortlessly with time. The calculated casting of Tom Hanks in the titular role is a prime example of casting director magic that often goes unnoticed but deserves applause. His exceptional acting gives the movie the emotional range needed to carry it from start to finish.

In hindsight, this movie could have benefitted from more diversity, rather than sticking to the familiar script of many science-fiction films we've seen before. A touch of originality could have elevated it further.

The post-apocalyptic vision of the future presented in Finch—and humanity’s possible reaction to it—is something we’ve encountered in countless other stories. The ozone layer is depleted, the Earth becomes inhospitable, and the remaining humans devolve into survivalist "animals," killing each other for resources. Finch takes a more solitary approach to this bleak future, focusing on one man’s experience. When you think about it, this scenario feels like one of the more plausible outcomes if humanity were faced with a future of food scarcity and a collapse of infrastructure.

The movie gives off I Am Legend vibes, following Finch (Tom Hanks) and his loyal dog, Goodyear, as they scavenge for food in abandoned places long forgotten by other humans. Finch’s bond with Goodyear is at the heart of the story, and his love for his dog borders on fatherly devotion.

But Finch has a problem—he’s dying. His biggest fear is that Goodyear will be left alone, with no one to care for him. As a former engineer, Finch devises a plan to save his beloved companion. Locked in his old workplace, he begins constructing a humanoid robot designed to care for Goodyear after he’s gone. This robot, named Jeff, becomes Finch’s solution to ensuring his dog’s survival.

We see hints of advanced AI technology in this future world. Finch has already created several robots to make his life easier, but Jeff is different. Jeff’s primary directive, above all else, is to care for Goodyear.

With worsening weather threatening their survival, Finch, Jeff, and Goodyear set out on a journey westward to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Along the way, Finch teaches Jeff everything he needs to know about caring for the dog and avoiding potential dangers that could jeopardize their mission.

For me, Finch is well-suited to its digital release format on Apple TV. It’s a movie that’s easy to follow and enjoy as we root for Finch to find a miracle—some form of civilization where he can feel at ease, even if only for a little while.

Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)

Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)

 

5/10

Starring

Jack Whitehall

Darby Camp

Tony Hale

Sienna Guillory

Directed by Walt Becker

First thing to note: this is a children’s movie, and it doesn’t try at any point to be more than that. I’ve never seen any animation or read the source material, so this was my first introduction to Clifford the Big Red Dog. The movie works well for younger audiences, but for more mature viewers, there may be some reservations about how the story develops.

For me, I enjoyed how this comedy-adventure film shifted gears and became a chase movie. We had Clifford, Emily, and Casey running around town, trying to avoid being caught by the bad guy. Like all villains in children’s films, his motivation is simple: he wants Clifford for himself to experiment on him.

Children don’t need depth to enjoy this, but adults might notice the lack of depth in the characters and may not be entirely sold on the transition from comedy to chase.

The acting wasn’t anything spectacular, and there’s no flashy showcase for the CGI used to create Clifford. At times, you can tell not much was invested in the effects, but that’s understandable for this type of film.

The movie introduces some magical elements, guided by John Cleese as Mr. Bridwell. The magic begins when Bridwell gives Emily a small red puppy. Emily lives with her single mom, who has to leave town for work and calls on her jobless brother, Casey, to babysit Emily while she’s away. Casey isn’t just jobless; he’s clueless and appears lazy. Their dynamic feels like leaving a 12-year-old in the care of a 13-year-old.

One day, while walking around, Emily and Casey stumble upon Mr. Bridwell’s animal sanctuary, where all the animals are looking for homes. We eventually learn that Bridwell has a knack for matching the right pet with the right person, and for Emily, the perfect match is Clifford.

How Clifford ends up in Emily’s backpack is one of those unexplained touches of Bridwell’s magic. After meeting Clifford, Casey immediately turns down the idea of keeping him as a pet since Emily’s apartment doesn’t allow animals.

Despite this, Clifford ends up in the house, and they decide to return him the next day. But when morning comes, Emily discovers Clifford has grown more than 10 feet tall overnight. Their problems seem to have grown just as much. Now they have to track down Mr. Bridwell to see if he can shrink Clifford back to normal size.

Their adventure around town turns them into an internet sensation, and a company that has been trying for years to create giant food becomes determined to capture Clifford for their experiments—by any means necessary.

In the end, it’s a children’s movie and nothing more than that.

Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)

Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)

 4/10

Starring

Ellie Kemper

Rob Delaney

Archie Yates

Aisling Bea

Directed by Dan Mazer

The best way to approach this movie is with an open mind. There’s no way it’s anywhere near as entertaining as the 1990s John Hughes Home Alone, but it gets some points for attempting something new. The problem is that the attempt is so lacking in entertainment that it feels like there was no point in trying at all.

Acting-wise, the adults in this movie seem determined to make it the next go-to Christmas film. The new child actor stepping into this movie’s version of Kevin McCallister is Archie Yates, who plays Max Mercer, a kid left behind by his mother, Carol (Aisling Bea).

The setup for leaving Max behind is similar to what we know from the original: the family, joined by their extended relatives, plans a group getaway. But here’s where the movie completely lost me—the sheer negligence of Carol should honestly be a crime in all countries.

In the original, Kevin is left behind because he was being a pain and was sent to sleep in the attic. The next morning, one of his cousins is tasked with counting the kids and mistakenly counts a neighbor kid as Kevin, making everyone think all the kids are accounted for.

In this version, Carol flies to Japan without even telling Max, let alone leaving a message for her husband. Then her husband also flies to Japan, leaving Max behind. This is pure negligence from both parents.

As the movie begins, we meet a financially struggling couple, Jeff and Pam McKenzie (played by Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper). Carol takes Max to their house during an open house showing so he can use the toilet. It’s here that Max and Jeff meet. Max spots a doll he likes, but Jeff, noticing Max’s interest, firmly tells him the doll isn’t for sale or for him to touch.

Later, Jeff checks the doll’s value online and discovers it’s worth over $200,000—a sum that could save them from their financial troubles. However, when Jeff goes to retrieve the doll, it’s missing, and he immediately suspects that Max took it.

Jeff traces Max to his home, notices the family leaving for their trip, and decides to return with Pam when the house is empty. When they do, Max, thinking they’ve come to kidnap him, decides to protect his home.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie takes a new spin on the Home Alone formula, but it just isn’t funny. Worse, the pranks feel more mean-spirited than the original’s chaotic charm. There’s one part where Jeff wakes up with a VR headset on his face. That prank was heartbreaking—it pushed believability too far. I’ve heard of people losing their glasses on their heads, but not realizing you’ve got a VR headset strapped to your face? Come on.

You can catch this movie on Disney+, but personally, I don’t plan on watching it again anytime soon.

They Harder They Fall (2021)

The Harder They Fall (2021)

 

6/10 

Starring

Jonathan Majors

Idris Elba

Zazie Beetz

Regina King

Delroy Lindo

 

Directed by Jeymes Samuel

 

I enjoyed seeing this movie—the surprise ending is the best part of it, and the build-up to it was decent. I liked the acting—each character leaves a memorable impression, and they depict a wide range of emotions. The story is something you’ve seen before, but the energy and drive of the movie make you want to sit through it.

When it comes to putting a movie like this together, one of the coolest things needed to make it all work is a soundtrack that makes each moment memorable—and this movie delivers on that. The setting and atmosphere are captivating. You’ll notice and appreciate how they splice modern elements into the traditional cowboy gear, despite the movie being set in the 19th century.

The movie follows an old template to build its world, with the main premise being revenge. It starts with a ten-year-old boy witnessing the brutal murder of his parents. The killer scars him for life by carving a cross on his forehead. The boy grows into a man (Nat) and sets out on a path of revenge against the man (Rufus) who shattered his life. Rufus is an outlaw whose crimes landed him in prison for some time. He gets out thanks to a pardon and returns to a town (Redwood) now run by one of his former gang members.

Rufus learns that his gang was robbed of $25,000 by none other than Nat. Fueled by his desire for revenge, Nat assembles his own gang of outlaws to infiltrate Redwood and kill Rufus. Nat’s love interest, Field, suggests scouting the town first, but the plan backfires when Rufus takes her hostage.

To secure Field’s release, Rufus demands that Nat return the stolen money—plus an additional $10,000. This means Nat and his gang must rob a bank to raise the money. However, they face a harsh reality: no local bank has that kind of cash. Even if they manage to get the money, there’s no guarantee Rufus will let Field go.

You’ll have to watch the movie to see how they handle this high-stakes situation, where revenge and the need to save a loved one cross.

The characters in the movie were inspired by real-life figures from the 19th century, even though the plot itself is fictional.

Good fun movie to watch, and I highly recommend it. You can catch this movie on Netflix right now.

Army of Thieves (2021)

 Army of Thieves (2021)

 

5/10

 

Starring           

Matthias Schweighöfer

Nathalie Emmanuel

Ruby O. Fee

Stuart Martin

Guz Khan

Jonathan Cohen

 

Directed by Matthias Schweighöfer

 

I love comedy heist movies, and I was interested in seeing this one, but for a comedy heist film, I only laughed once—when Sebastian tried to do something “manly” and punch Brad in the face. Other than that, the comedy in this movie is like looking for a needle in a haystack. By the end, the movie felt like an anticlimax. It serves as a prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.

I didn’t bother watching Army of the Dead, the first movie in Zack Snyder’s franchise, mainly because anything with zombies in it automatically puts me off. I almost skipped this one too, until I heard it focused more on the heists this crew would be pulling off.

In the end, I feel like if you never watch this movie, you’re not missing much. It only had one real high point—right after the second heist—but then everything went downhill.

I do think Snyder is a great writer, but this movie has so much fluff. At least half of it could be cut out, and the remaining hour would still make perfect sense. The movie opens with an over-thirty-minute introduction to every character and their backstories. It was so drawn out that I almost turned it off to do something more productive.

Then the first heist happens, and it’s ridiculously easy—like a walk in the park. It made me curious to see how the second heist, which Gwen promised would be much harder, would play out.

The movie introduces us to Sebastian, who has a passion for safes and safe-cracking. He’s recruited by Gwen to join her gang of international thieves, who are wanted everywhere. The crew includes:

• Sebastian, the safe cracker
• Korina, the hacker (because every modern heist crew needs a hacker)
• Rolph, the getaway driver (played by British comedian Guz Khan—the only reason I gave this movie a chance)
• Brad, the gunman

The team plans to commit three bank robberies, each one more challenging than the last. The big draw for Sebastian is that one of the safes on their list is one he’s always dreamed of seeing—and cracking.

The first heist, as I mentioned, is ridiculously easy. The second one is tougher and finally gets interesting, but the momentum doesn’t last long. After that, the movie quickly fizzles out, ending on a disappointing note.

You can catch this movie on Netflix, but honestly, you’re not missing anything if you skip it.

Copshop (2021)

Copshop (2021)

 6/10

 Starring

Gerard Butler

Frank Grillo

Alexis Louder

 

Directed by Joe Carnahan

 

I was really in the mood for an old-school action thriller where the game is set from the start, the odds are stacked against the protagonist, and everything is lined up for a good old-fashioned shootout. This movie’s style is all about who will outlast who. From the start, we peg the protagonist, rookie officer Val, as someone who is way in over her head. She plays the classic rookie cop role—being overly inquisitive and annoying all the seasoned officers. It’s the kind of character development you’ve seen in every rookie cop movie.

The plot isn’t particularly complex, nor does it require deep thought to keep up. It’s very much in the vein of an ’80s action flick, with an anti-hero tasked with stopping the bad guys who’ve crossed the wrong people. The cinematography and direction, courtesy of Joe Carnahan, carry that same vibe he’s known for. If you’ve seen his other movies like Smokin' Aces, The A-Team, The Grey, or Boss Level, you’ll know what to expect here. If you enjoyed those, this one’s worth a watch.

Now, back to the movie. Val (and only Val) notices something suspicious about today’s arrests. The two men in custody don’t quite add up. First, there’s Teddy (Frank Grillo), who deliberately punched her in the face so he could get arrested. Then there’s Bob (Gerard Butler), who pretended to be drunk and drove into parked police cars—also ensuring he’d get arrested and placed in the same room as Teddy.

Meanwhile, within the same police station, there’s a dirty cop working for the wrong people who’s been tasked with “assisting” in the Teddy situation.

So, what’s the Teddy situation? Unfortunately, this is where the movie disappoints.

Teddy’s predicament isn’t as complex or intriguing as the build-up suggests. It could have been, but the movie doesn’t give us enough backstory or insight. His crimes are quickly explained in a brief, almost dismissive way, so the focus can shift to the psychopath hitman, Anthony, who has broken into the station. Anthony is after the bounty on Teddy’s head, but it turns out Bob is also in on the game and wants the same prize.

Here’s the twist: Bob is locked up, while Anthony and his accomplices have already wiped out all the cops in the station. Val is the only one left alive, barricading herself in the bulletproof holding cell where Teddy and Bob are being held.

Val’s injured—she’s been shot and is bleeding. Meanwhile, Anthony is trying to break down the wall to get to them. She needs help, but she doesn’t know who to trust: Teddy, the self-centered liar, or Bob, the professional hitman.

Copshop was a fun watch and is sure to appeal to action lovers.