Cruella (2021)

Cruella (2021)

6/10

Starring

Emma Stone

Emma Thompson

Joel Fry

Paul Walter Hauser

 

Directed by Craig Gillespie

 

I swear, I already judged the casting of Emma Stone as Cruella in this live-action spin-off before even watching it. Now that I’ve seen her in the role, I have to admit she’s an amazing actor. Her portrayal of Cruella and the way she framed the character was magnificent to watch.

The movie is fun, and you’ll enjoy it, especially for the wonderful world-building. It’s visually dazzling, with a colorful screenplay and bursts of creativity. However, the movie is ultimately forgettable, and it’s way too long. The story is written in a Dickensian style, which makes it less predictable than I expected. Be prepared for some fantastic performances from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, especially when their characters go head-to-head.

It’s obvious Disney is testing the limits of its fanbase. Cruella isn’t a bad attempt, and this crime comedy delivers an OK experience, but it leaves you questioning why the movie was made in the first place. It wasn’t necessary. They also made a strange decision to tie characters from One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) to Cruella’s past. For all the ingenuity and creativity the director and writers put into this film, that decision felt like a misstep. Giving Cruella a clean break from the animated story would’ve been a better approach, in my opinion.

The plot takes us way back, starting with the birth of Estella/Cruella. From her childhood, we see that Cruella has always been different—and her black-and-white hair isn’t just a style choice. What I liked about this depth they gave her character is that she was never one to follow the rules, and her defiance led to a tragedy that changed her life. Cruella became homeless and lived on the streets, stealing and conning with the help of her two friends, Jasper and Horace.

Jasper always knew Cruella had a talent for fashion and got her a job working for the Baroness (played by Emma Thompson), a fashion icon whose character reminds you of Meryl Streep’s Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada (2006). The Baroness noticed Cruella’s potential and took her under her wing, but Cruella’s past is tied to the Baroness in ways that come back to haunt her. Cruella’s life is jolted when she sees the Baroness wearing a necklace that belonged to someone she loved. The Baroness’s complete dismissal of that person hits Cruella hard, fueling her desire for revenge and to reclaim the necklace.

This is where Cruella’s darker side takes over. We watch her and her partners bond, scheme, and do everything they can to bring down the Baroness.

Even though I enjoyed the movie, I still don’t understand why it had to be over two hours long. For example, the introduction featuring Cruella and her mother felt unnecessarily long. There were other parts, too, that felt irrelevant to the main story and could’ve been cut. The many bonding moments between the Baroness and Cruella, for instance, could’ve been shortened.

As for the movie’s major twist, I personally liked the story better before the twist was revealed.

Rule of Engagement (2000)

Rule of Engagement (2000)

 

5/10

Starring

Tommy Lee Jones

Samuel L. Jackson

Guy Pearce

Bruce Greenwood

Blair Underwood

 

Directed by William Friedkin

 

This movie drags so much that if you’re not sitting upright, you’ll probably fall asleep while watching, I almost did. The script feels highly unrealistic, and its setup isn’t compelling at all. When they finally get to the courtroom—where the main plot is supposed to unravel—even that fails to win me over.

The movie spends half its time setting up an implausible view of an incident based on a supposedly successful military mission. It pushes the blame onto the commander of a team and tries to make him the scapegoat for taking action that, while gruesome, seemed necessary in the moment.

One glaring issue is how many soldiers were positioned on the roof, yet none of them seemed to notice the bullets coming from the ground. After the incident, it also makes no sense that none of the soldiers mentioned seeing any firearms on the ground in their reports. The idea that a country would sacrifice one of its own for taking what appeared to be minimal action under the circumstances is possible, sure—but the way it’s presented here feels completely unconvincing.

Then comes the court case. After what feels like an eternity of waiting for it, the courtroom drama itself lacks any punch. The proceedings feel flat and unengaging, and the prosecutor acts like he has a personal vendetta against the defendant.

The plot revolves around Colonel Childers (Samuel L. Jackson), who is sent on a mission to rescue an ambassador. When he arrives, the embassy is in chaos, with shootings that result in the deaths of three marines. Childers notices gunfire coming from both snipers and the crowd on the ground, so he orders his men to shoot back at the crowd.

Once back home, the government decides to make Childers the scapegoat, hiding evidence that could exonerate him and even getting the ambassador to lie by claiming the protest was peaceful. Desperate to defend himself, Childers calls on his old war buddy to represent him and help save him from being court-martialed.

The courtroom drama doesn’t focus solely on Childers’ actions. Instead, it centers on how far the government will go to politically scapegoat a man for taking drastic, albeit grim, action under duress.

The movie wasn’t successful either critically or commercially. Watching it again now, after so many years, I can understand why. It doesn’t stand out as a courtroom drama worth recommending to anyone.

The Negotiator (1998)

The Negotiator (1998)

 

7/10

Starring

Samuel L. Jackson

Kevin Spacey

David Morse

 

Directed by F. Gary Gray

 

Awesome movies will forever stand out and wade through time to remain relevant. The Negotiator bases itself on the strength of its dialogue and outstanding performances, delivering a simple story in a captivating way. It doesn’t rely heavily on character backstories but instead pulls you in with the stellar performances of its two leads, who navigate the conspiracy at the heart of the film.

I love how the movie keeps you guessing about who to trust. Even as the clouds start to clear, it still leaves you questioning who’s truly trustworthy. By the dramatic ending, when our lead Danny (Samuel L. Jackson) finally uncovers the truth, the film still manages to make you second-guess if you’ve grasped everything that’s going on.

The plot introduces us to Danny, a skilled hostage negotiator and a board member of the disability fund for his department. His friend Roenick had been investigating the fund and discovered that money was being embezzled. Roenick confided in Danny, saying he’d obtained the information from an informant. Things took a dark turn when Roenick was murdered before he could meet with Danny.

Danny became the chief suspect, being the first on the scene. To make matters worse, investigators uncovered an offshore bank account in his name with a suspiciously large balance. Accused of both murder and embezzlement, Danny maintained his innocence but was suspended.

Desperate to clear his name, Danny confronted Internal Affairs investigator Niebaum. During their heated exchange, things escalated, and Danny, faced with no other option, took drastic action. He held Niebaum hostage, along with an officer from his precinct and two others. Danny then demanded to negotiate only with another hostage negotiator—someone completely unrelated to his precinct, Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey).

What follows is a tense, gripping story as Danny finds himself increasingly out of his depth. Some are eager to kill him to cover up their involvement, while others seem willing to risk a violent resolution to end the standoff.

The movie was a mild box-office success but a strong critical one. Even after seeing it numerous times back in the early 2000s, watching it again still had me glued to the screen until the very end.

This film stands tall among the notable movies directed by F. Gary Gray, and for me, it’s my favorite from his repertoire. It’s also one of Samuel L. Jackson’s best performances, so if you have not seen it, then you have missed a gem.

Wrath of Man (2021)

Wrath of Man (2021)

 

3/10

 Starring

Jason Statham

Holt McCallany

Jeffrey Donovan

Josh Hartnett

 

Directed by Guy Ritchie

 

To get this out of the way, this movie is based on the 2004 French film Le Convoyeur. There are some changes here and there, but now that’s out of the way, let me summarize: this movie is absolutely one of the worst things you can watch. It’s unnecessarily long and tries to cram as much as possible into a thin plot. The story is all over the place, with something happening in almost every scene. I had to double-check to make sure this is a Guy Ritchie film and not some rip-off. Surprisingly, Ritchie wrote, directed, and produced this film—but it feels like he’s forgotten how to make movies.

There’s no depth here, and the film seems overly proud of its suspense and the poorly developed character Hill (Jason Statham). The only redeeming quality about Hill is that he doesn’t talk much—because when he does, his lines are so cringeworthy you’ll wish you could reach into the screen and slap him.

The plot introduces us to Hill, who just got a new job at an armored truck company. The movie wastes no time, starting with a quick intro and diving straight into the action. The opening scene focuses on an armed robbery of an armored truck, showing us how dangerous the job is.

I’ll give the movie one thing: it gets to the point quickly. However, you probably won’t like Hill. His overconfident, silent macho-man persona is more irritating than captivating.

During one of Hill’s runs, his armored truck is attacked. Bullets are flying everywhere, but of course, Hill kills all the bad guys with perfect aim. He’s like the fastest gun in the West, never missing a shot, while somehow dodging every bullet aimed at him. At this point, the movie starts to feel like a failed B-movie. There’s even a scene where Hill casually walks after a fleeing man, catches up to him, and kills him—because apparently, tough bad guys never break a sweat.

We eventually discover that Hill is actually a bad guy in his own right, infiltrating the company for his own personal agenda. Tragedy struck when a team of armed robbers attacked an armored truck while Hill was with his son. Hill stepped away to buy something, leaving his son to witness the entire robbery—and his son ended up getting killed.

Now, Hill is on a revenge mission.

One thing that didn’t make sense to me was the hostility Hill faced as a newcomer. Right from the start, his coworkers seemed to hate him for no reason. There’s even this ridiculous line: “We ain’t the predators... we the prey,” which is apparently meant to justify their baseless animosity toward him on his first day.

All in all, this movie is not worth your time. It’s poorly written, poorly executed, and a complete waste of two hours. Make better use of your time—skip this one.

Sabotage (2014)

Sabotage (2014)

 

3/10

 

Starring

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sam Worthington

Olivia Williams

Terrence Howard

Joe Manganiello

 

Directed by David Ayer

 

Well, what a waste of time this movie was, which even failed at the box office.

If you need a character to play a stiff role, then Arnold Schwarzenegger is your man. Even though this movie has the whole '90s-style action movie vibe, it’s toned down a lot from what you’d expect from a typical '90s action film. The story can best be described as shabby, wasting more than a third of its runtime telling you about everyone and everything in the most boring way before kicking off the main plot.

The movie has a very convoluted beginning but then falls into a rhythm where you can start figuring out who’s who and what you’re supposed to be focused on. This doesn’t mean the movie still didn’t play hide and seek with itself, tripping over its very own idea of suspense. With pacing problems and some truly horrible characters, this movie can be hard to watch. Even though the cast roster looks promising, every character was annoying, and you’ll find yourself wishing they all get killed off. One thing I can tell you to watch out for before seeing this movie is that the testosterone level is so high, it becomes silly.

The plot introduces us to John (Schwarzenegger), who leads a team of DEA special operations. From the get-go, during their bust, you can tell that this team is not all there. Every member seems to have a screw loose somewhere. The drug bust is a success, and the team steals $10 million. They hide the money and blow up the whole building, hoping to get rid of the evidence—but things don’t go as planned. First, the money they hid away is stolen. Then, because of the way things went down, they’re suspected of theft and suspended while the investigation goes nowhere.

When the team is reinstated to their roles, things don’t get any better. They start dropping dead one by one. The remaining members begin to suspect that the drug dealers they took down are behind the hits. But as the investigation continues, we discover there’s more going on and a lot of framing happening. The whole plot reminds me of the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None.

In the end, this is one of those movies where if you never see it, you’re not missing a thing. We, who have seen it, wish we had not.