Netflix
just keeps delivering the goods, beefing up its catalog of quality
at-home entertainment with banger after banger. All jokes and puns aside
though, the streaming giant has been in the news recently for losing
subscribers despite the immense success of shows like Squid Game. But
with movies like 365 Days on the opposite end of the spectrum, it is
easy to imagine why. We are not here to discuss the company's financial
woes alas, but rather their sequel to one of 2020's most notorious
movies.
Following the cliffhanger ending seen in the last
film, the new one opens with a dreamlike sequence that wastes no time in
showing viewers what type of movie it is: a glorified telenovela filmed
like a string of music videos masking as an erotic thriller. But if you
somehow manage to make it past that opening without clicking off
Netflix, then you'll discover that the story begins one day before the
wedding between our two protagonists, Massimo and Laura.
The movie
wastes no time in brushing aside all the loose threads from the last
one. Not only is Laura alive and well, but she is also no longer
pregnant. I guess a baby bump or motherly duties would have gotten in
the way of all the steamy sex scenes they had planned for the film. That
one detail aside, we finally get to see our two lovers legitimize their
romance through holy matrimony.
But the honeymoon phase doesn't
last very long and Laura is soon forced to grapple with what it truly
means to be the wife of a mafioso. In the midst of all that grappling
walks in Massimo 2.0, a hired hand named Nacho whose textbook advances
slowly begin to win Laura's affections. Now Laura must also grapple with
her loyalty to Massimo as the very foundation of their ill-conceived
love gets tested.
Let me just start by saying that I realize
there is a target audience for these types of low-brow erotic films, and
that I am clearly well outside that demographic. That said, every movie
is still made up of the same fundamental elements like plot and
characterization, regardless of genre. And while individual films might
be shaped by genre conventions, those basics still act like the glue
holding the whole thing together. So I figured I'd assess this one on
those very grounds.
In terms of plot, the story in 365 Days: This
Day is pretty much the same generic "trouble in paradise" tale we've
seen a million times in better films. But here it is cobbled together so
sloppily that the mere act of sitting through it feels like a chore.
The characters are likewise one-dimensional with often questionable
motives, spouting meme-worthy lines of dialogue while failing to show
any meaningful growth or development. But I bet no one was heading into
this film expecting any different.
In fact, I'm pretty certain
the only reason this film was green-lit was to tap into the demand for
female-skewing erotic entertainment ala 50 Shades of Grey, and on those
grounds, its existence seems almost justified. Noticed I'd said almost
because the sex scenes themselves are so heavily scripted and
overproduced that they can't help but come across as stiff and comically
so. But I suppose if that's what you're here for then at least there's
enough of it to make enduring all the bad dialogue and sloppy writing
seem worthwhile.
In case I haven't made it clear enough at this
point, 365 Days: This Day is as bottom-of-the-barrel as it gets. It
caters to the lowest common denominator in a way that even defenders of
the original film (all two or three of them) are bound to feel insulted. There are, quite frankly, far better erotic films out
there for those that care enough to seek them out, making it very hard
to recommend this one to anyone but the laziest of Netflix subscribers.
Coming fresh off of the success it had gotten with Spider-Man: No Way Home last Christmas, all eyes are on Sony and the third film in their villain-centric Spider-Man Universe, Morbius. This is after several delays that saw the film get moved out of its original 2020 release date, all the way to April 1st, 2022. And as trailers continued to sell us on the film's connections to Spider-Man and the other villains in his rogue's gallery, so also did our interest continue to grow. But like a cruel April Fool joke that nobody saw coming, the movie finally arrives to show us that things are not quite what they seem.
The film stars Jared Leto as Michael Morbius, a doctor who was born with a rare blood disorder. In his quest to find a cure for his illness, he begins to conduct experiments with a peculiar breed of bats he believes have the enzyme needed to reverse his condition. But the experiment ends up also giving him some of their other vampire-like qualities, including their insatiable thirst for human blood. Now Morbius must wrestle against becoming the monster people already see him as, before he ends up hurting those who are dearest to him.
On the surface, Morbius looks like a film with lots of potential. We have a fairly popular antihero from the Spider-Man comic books being played by a more-than-capable Jared Leto. We also have the promise of connections to the larger Sony Spider-Man Universe. Most importantly though, we have an origin story that looked like it would deliver both the heart and thrills we've all come to expect from these comic book movies.
And sure enough, the movie starts off with all of the aforementioned promises intact. But it doesn't take very long before the whole thing quickly loses its way with an incoherence that needs to be seen to be believed. Everything from the dialogue, to the one-dimensional characters reeks of a script that needed more than a few more passes in the writing room.
The one area where the film could have scored any kind of redemption points is in its action scenes and even those are marred with a CGI-heavy style that seems ripped straight out of the mid-2000s. It is difficult to tell what is happening at any given moment and most times you just want the whole thing to stop before you develop a headache trying to decipher any of it.
But the movie's biggest offense in my opinion is its utter failure to live up to expectations. The film was heavily marketed as a part of the larger Sony Spider-Man Universe. But any connection it has with the recent Spider-Man films is tenuous at best. In fact, many of the scenes and connections shown in the trailers are nowhere to be seen in the actual movie, in what is probably the most egregious case of false advertising I have seen in recent memory.
It is not all doom and gloom though, as the film did have one or two areas that managed to shine through the murk. First there is Jared Leto as Morbius, whose performance was heartfelt and restrained. Then there was the opening bit like I said, which looked like it should've led into a far better movie than the one we got. Except none of that is enough to save what is essentially another movie more concerned with building an interconnected universe than actually telling a coherent story.
To say that Morbius is a barely comprehensible mess would be putting it lightly. It is, quite simply, one of the worst comic book movies to grace cinema screens since Vin Diesel's Bloodshot. Anyone planning to catch the film on the big screen is advised to do so with heaps of garlic and holy water in tow. And even then, you'll be hard pressed to glean any kind of enjoyment out of its 1 hour and 44 minutes, other than perhaps chuckling at just how bad the whole thing ends up becoming.
Pixar Animation Studio continues to deliver the
goods with Turning Red, their latest coming-of-age adventure film. The
movie is helmed by Domee Shi in her feature film directorial debut,
whose work on the 2018 short film, Bao, had earned her an Oscar for Best
Animated Short Film. So anticipation for her latest project was always
going to be high, which has only been further heightened by its
intriguing premise and good-looking trailers. But does the film itself
live up to those expectations, or does it manage to exceed them?
In
Turning Red, 13-year-old Mei Lee seems to have everything figured out.
She's a straight-As scoring student that balances her free time between
helping out her mum at their family-run Temple and hanging out
with her close-knit friends, Miriam, Abby, and Priya (not to mention the
bond they've forged over their shared obsession with the terribly
misnamed boy band, 4*Town).
But
beneath her cool exterior lies a girl still struggling to accept the
changes that come with adolescence, least of which includes her sudden
attraction to members of the opposite sex. And things become even more
complicated when she also starts transforming into a giant red panda
whenever she experiences an emotional outburst. Now she must learn to
keep things under control or risk having her once-straightforward life
come crashing down around her.
When
it was first announced that Turning Red was going to be skipping
theaters in favor of a Disney+ debut, I'd initially felt a jolt of
disappointment. This was after all one of the films I was looking
forward to the most in 2022, and the third straight Pixar film being
sent to the streaming service following both Soul and Luca. But much
like those other films had done in 2020 and 2021 respectively, this one
also manages to shine despite being relegated to the small screen in key
territories.
This has a lot to
do with the movie's overall charm and its strong message about the value
of friendship. Even though that message would appear geared towards
teenage girls, much of what is depicted should be instantly recognizable
for anyone who grow up in the late 90s or early 2000s, especially
during the height of boy band mania. And while Mei Lee's hijinx are
often played for laughs, watching her and her friends navigate
adolescence and its inherent messiness is something we can all relate to
on some level.
On the production front,
Turning Red is completely gorgeous to look at. But I'm pretty sure you
already knew that, given Pixar's past work and their tendency for
producing top-of-the-line animation. A talented voice cast helps to
bring that animation to life, including Sandra Oh as Mei Lee's mother,
Ming. Brother and sister duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
also populate its soundtrack with some period-accurate pop songs, while Ludwig
Goransson rounds out the score.
Turning Red captures
enough of the old Pixar magic to make it a worthwhile watch for the
entire family. It serves as a great metaphor for the various changes
that accompany a young girl's transition to womanhood, while
still resonating with young and older audiences alike with some of the
funniest gags to make it into an animated film under the Disney umbrella. Above
all, it is a film about accepting one's self, even if
that might not fit into the broader expectations of others or the ones
we care about the most.
It is no secret that The Batman was my most anticipated movie heading into 2022. Following in the footsteps of the 2019 film, Joker, this latest iteration of the Caped Crusader was intended as another standalone DC project, existing outside of the DCEU and divorced from everything that came before it. And from the time that the very first trailers dropped, it was clear that director Matt Reeves had a vision for the film that was steeped in film noir sensibilities. But does all that style translate into a worthwhile movie or is this yet another case of style over substance?
The movie finds a world-weary Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattison) in his second year as the masked vigilante known as Batman. But this is Batman as we've never seen him before on film, a hard-boiled detective that isn't afraid to crack skulls to get answers. He has formed an uneasy alliance with the Gotham PD, through police commissioner, James Gordon (Geoffrey Wright). Their relationship becomes even more strained though when a serial killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano) starts adorning his victims with personal messages addressed to Batman. But as they race against time to catch the criminal mastermind before he claims more victims, they uncover a trail of corruption threatening to shake the very foundations of the crime-ridden city.
My expectations were
always going to be sky-high going into a movie like The Batman. After all, we've had to endure a more than 5-month delay following production troubles during the height of the coronavirus outbreak. And in all that additional time, my anticipation had only continued to grow, spurred on by solid trailer after solid trailer. So the movie certainly felt like it had a lot to live up to. This was not only promising to be a fresh take on a truly beloved DC icon, it was also coming in the wake of the high bar already set by the excellent Dark Knight trilogy. Even the DCEU had already shown us what a world-weary Batman would look like. So it was always going to be a question of whether or not this new film will be able to hit that bar, or at the very least, justify its existence.
Well, I'm pleased to say that the movie definitely didn't disappoint, at least going by the experience I had during my initial viewing. Notice I'd said initial viewing because quite frankly, this is one of those films that simply demands to be seen more than once to fully appreciate. At almost 3 hours in length, the movie is packed with so much detail and interconnected story threads that it often teetered on the edge of becoming overwhelming. That said, I did appreciate that all of it was well-paced and the movie never started to lose any steam or feel like a slog. Most of that is due to Matt Reeve's deft handling of the script, which remained captivating from the opening monologue up until the credits started to roll.
Speaking of monologue, we do indeed have to touch on Robert Pattison's portrayal of both Bruce Wayne and Batman. The seasoned actor continues to prove his acting chops beyond his early Harry Potter and Twilight days, giving us what is easily one of the most grounded versions of Bruce Wayne and Batman we've gotten in live-action. It was impressive the amount of emotion he was able to convey with very little dialogue, as we could still feel all the pain and conflict he was going through in every single scene. All that emotion and overall broodiness might come across as excessive for some though, but I felt it worked in the context of the story the movie was trying to tell.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't say something about Michael Giacchino's score for the film, which was every bit as rousing as one would expect from a film of this scope. But I think where the film shines the brightest is in its visuals. And no, I don't mean that ironically, as the decision to set most of the film at nighttime certainly plays a role in how the city of Gotham was perceived. Its griminess is almost palpable, like a cesspool that is on the very edge of imploding. The actors are also constantly draped in shadows, with plenty of silhouettes and shots that looked like they could have been ripped straight off the pages of a graphic novel. The film is definitely a looker and one that deserves to be seen on the biggest (and hopefully brightest) screen available.
The Batman might not be the DC hero's best cinematic outing to date, but it certainly ranks as one of his most ambitious. It captures a side of the "World's Greatest Detective" that is often neglected in film while peeling back layers of his character that offer more insight into his dual personas and the toll one takes on the other. Most importantly, the film makes yet another case for why comic book movies that exist outside of established cinematic universes need to be greenlit more often. Because that is where true creativity has the freedom to blossom. And yes, I realize that another shared universe is already being planned around this new film. But it was still refreshing to see Matt Reeves take a clean break from everything that came before to craft something truly visionary.
In recent years, video games have grown to be more and more cinematic in their scope and ambitions. And nowhere is that push for filmic thrills as evident as in the games in the Uncharted series. At once a riff on Indiana Jones and the various action blockbusters we've gotten since then, those games have perfected the art of delivering jaw-dropping setpiece moments. So one would think that the intellectual property is just prime for adapting into film. But how well does it actually translate into the very medium that served as inspiration for its source material?
The movie cold opens with a scene that seems to offer a glimpse of the many thrills that await within its relatively short runtime. But before long, we find ourselves in flashback territory, as a young Nathan Drake does mischievous deeds with his older brother, Sam. Flash forward to present day and an older Nathan is approached by a man named Victor Sullivan, with an offer to help him find some long lost pirate treasure along with the promise of reuniting him with his estranged brother. Throw in a generic villain by way of Antonio Banderas' Moncada, who is also trying to get to the treasure, and you get the general gist of the movie.
If ever there was a film that illustrates the vast gulf that exists between the movie and video game mediums, then that film is Uncharted. The movie simply lacks much of the spark that made the video games special, instead delivering a run-of-the-mill adventure we've seen done better in other films. I concede that each medium has its own idiosyncrasies, and what works in one doesn't necessarily work in the other. For example, while a game has the benefit of telling its story over the course of as many hours as it has exciting gameplay to sustain its player, its film adaptation has to condense all that storytelling into two hours or less.
But all that said, it is still quite baffling how a property like Uncharted could feel like it was merely ticking off boxes while running on autopilot. The decision to adapt bits and pieces of the various games into one movie doesn't work, as we don't have any of the emotional weight that carried those scenes in the games, due to an overall lack of adequate character development.
Victor Sullivan doesn't come across as anything more than a jerk for huge swaths of the film, and even Tom Holland's boyish charisma isn't enough to elevate his version of Nathan Drake past the appeal of yet another generic action hero. So when both characters are thrust into increasingly perilous situations over the course of the film, it is hard to truly care. To its credit, the film did have one or two surprises along the way, but none of that really worked to shine a new light on the characters involved.
But poor character development and average writing aside, how about those setpiece moments the games are known for? Sadly, even those are marred by the same overall blandness that seems to permeate much of the film. Add in the fact that some of the special effects on display were of a questionable quality and one starts to wonder what went wrong. Any fans of the games planning to go into the movie solely to see their favorite setpiece moments recreated would be better off just replaying those moments in the games instead.
The video game movie curse rears its ugly head once again in Uncharted, a middle-of-the-road adventure film that barely does enough to entertain. Anyone coming into the film with the games as a frame of reference would be sorely disappointed with just how bland and generic the entire affair has turned out. This is not to say that the film is without its thrills, as it certainly has some setpiece moments as already disclosed in its trailers. But when those thrills feel so tame and watered-down compared to the source material's, it is hard to come out of the movie feeling any kind of satisfaction.
As the 2021 holiday season slows to an end, the time has come to set our sights on what we can expect in 2022. I am of course talking about the many movies that will serve as escapism over the course of the next 12 months, be that at the cinema or on the various streaming platforms like Netflix. Thankfully, we don't have that many carryovers from the previous year this time around, as the film industry continues to adapt to the new climate, even in the face of the latest variant of concern.
I've tried as much as possible to limit my selection of 2022 movies to those ones that currently have concrete release dates, as well as some form of teaser, trailer or promotional material shared detailing what the film is about. That said, I might still sneak in one or two pie-in-the-sky movies simply because my anticipation for it cannot be contained, even in the absence of said details. So with all that out of the way, here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2022.
10. Morbius
One of the few films to get bumped into 2022, Morbius is an upcoming superhero movie wherein Jared Leto plays the eponymous scientist turned vampire. Sony Pictures Entertainment is currently busy building its own shared cinematic universe to rival Disney's, with their Spider-Man movies serving as its foundation. And so far, it would appear that they've scored nothing but hits with both Venom movies and all their Spider-Man films managing to resonate with fans. This is why all eyes are currently set on Morbius to keep that winning streak going.
9. Jurassic World: Dominion
The highly-anticipated third film in the current Jurassic World trilogy (itself a spin-off of the prior Jurassic Park trilogy) should be hitting cinemas just in time for summer. And if the 5-minute prologue that was shown on IMAX screens last year is anything to go by, the film looks primed to follow in the footsteps of both Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Colin Trevorrow returns to direct, after stepping away for the prior installment, and his latest film is set 4 years after the last one, following that film's surprise ending.
8. Lightyear
Pixar once again returns to the property that helped make them a household name in the realm of animation, but not in the form of another Toy Story sequel. Lightyear is rather a prequel of sorts, going over the exploits of the astronaut that served as inspiration for the Buzz Lightyear line of action figures from those other films. Little is known about the project beyond that premise, but if the studio's body of work is anything to go by, then moviegoers are in for a treat.
7. Black Adam
The Rock steps into the realm of superhero fiction in Black Adam, an upcoming film in the DCEU. The long-in-development project is being positioned as a spin-off of the 2019 film, Shazam!, which is itself set to receive a sequel in 2023 (keep an eye out for it on my 2023 most anticipated films list). Fans got their first real look at the movie in last year's DC FanDome, with a short clip that shows plenty of potential for what would hopefully be another win for the DCEU.
6. The Flash
Speaking of DC FanDome, one of the films that had the most buzz heading into the event was the forthcoming Flash movie. Simply titled The Flash, the film finds Ezra Miller reprising his role as the DC speedster from Justice League. But what had fans most excited was the news that both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck would be reprising their roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman in a story that involves time travel and multiple timelines. And those fans finally got their first glimpse of the former in the short clip that was shown during the event.
5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Following the incredible success of the first Black Panther film in 2018, as well as the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, a lot of speculation has been had regarding what direction the next film in the series would be forced to take. The first film remains one of the most widely beloved films in the MCU, and a lot of that has to do with the man at the center of the film. And while the new film's production is still very much influx at the moment, it is currently slated for a November 11th release date. Here's hoping that it not only honors and carries on Chadwick Boseman's legacy, but also meets and exceeds expectations in other ways.
4. Turning Red
We return to Pixar yet again on my list of most anticipated films for 2022 with Turning Red, an animated film about a young girl with an uncanny tendency to turn into a giant red panda whenever she gets anxious. The premise alone is reason enough to get excited for the film, but when you couple that with some truly gorgeous animation and the studio's pedigree, then it quickly becomes one of 2022's most promising titles.
3. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Part One)
As though the highs of the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home were not enough to tide Spidey fans over until his next MCU appearance, Sony upped and dropped a trailer for the sequel to their Academy Award-winning animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This time around, it appears that Miles Morales and friends would be going "Across the Spider-Verse" as its title alludes. The film is just the first part in what is currently being billed as an overall trilogy, so buckle up for what is sure to be another wild ride.
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
And while we are still on the topic of Spider-Man, or Spider-Man: No Way Home specifically, the next movie in the MCU looks set to address the ramifications of the events of that film. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Stephen Strange would have to join forces with Wanda Maximoff as he attempts to deal with the consequences of his actions. The film also appears to tie into his appearance in the animated What If...? series, so there's plenty riding on it as things currently stand.
1. The Batman
After suffering a delay that saw it get bumped from October into March 2022, Matt Reeves' The Batman is presently slated to do gangbusters at the box office. The film will have Robert Pattison putting on the caped crusader's cowl in the masked vigilante's latest attempts to clean up the streets of Gotham. And if the trailers are any kind of indication, then this version of Batman might just be the most brutal we've gotten thus far.
Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan have left a rather high-water mark for all subsequent Batman films to follow. But as we saw from Ben Aflleck's take on both Bruce Wayne and Batman, there are still several shades of his character yet to be explored on the big screen. The Batman appears to be the latest one of those, a gritty look at crime fighting that has more in common with films like Se7en than the likes of Batman v Superman and Justice League. And I am all for it.
Much like the rest of 2021, this week has seemingly flown by in a flash, meaning that today is the last day of my week-long 2021 in Review series of posts. This began on Monday with my review of my Top 10 video games for the year. On Tuesday, I had a rundown of my Top 10 TV shows. On Wednesday, I highlighted my favorite songs for the year. And yesterday, I went over my Top 10 movies. Today, we'll be taking a look back at the things and events that helped define the year as a whole.
2021 marked the start of the second year since the COVID-19 outbreak. And while vaccines had slowly began to become widely available at the start of the year, this did not come quick enough to prevent most countries from being hit with second, third, fourth and even fifth waves of the deadly virus. Add to that the introduction of more contagious variants like Delta and Omicron and it would seem there is presently no end in sight.
In spite of all this, things have continued to open up as we were all eager to return to a semblance of normalcy. Most countries have been able to avoid going back into full lockdowns,
even though international travel restrictions are still a thing. Movie theaters have also started to see the kind of business they once saw before the pandemic, with some records even getting broken. If there is one thing all these facts illustrate, it is our collective ability to persevere.
One of the things that has helped us persevere this past year is our access to social media, of which Facebook remains the biggest platform. So one can understand the panic some of us felt when on October 4th, the entire platform had seemingly vanished off the face of the internet, taking with it our access to other Facebook owned apps like WhatsApp and Instagram. Thankfully, the outage had only lasted a few hours, but it was still long enough to show the dangers of being dependent on such services in the first place.
It wasn't all doom and gloom over at Facebook this year though, as its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, had made some pretty exciting announcements during its Connect 2021 virtual presentation. It was revealed the company would be changing its name to Meta as a part of their push for helping realize the metaverse, a 3D representation of the internet that would leverage emerging technologies like VR and AR. For those wondering what exactly this proposed metaverse would look like, just think of it as something close to the OASIS in Ready Player One.
Despite numerous health and safety concerns and calls
for its cancellation, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were finally (read:
stubbornly) held between July 23 and August 8th this year in Japan.
According to statements released by the Japanese government, the Games
were to serve as a beacon of hope during the ongoing pandemic. So events
were held without spectators in a bid to curb any further surges of
COVID-19 cases in the country. But that could only go so far as record
numbers of daily new cases were recorded both during and after the event, peaking
at 156,931 on August 23rd.
A
total of 205 countries had taken part in the Games, across 339 events.
And by the time it was all said and done, the US had won the most
medals, taking home a total of 113. This was followed by China and Japan
with 88 and 58 medals respectively. Nigeria only managed to bring home
two medals, one silver and one bronze, which I guess was still an
improvement over the one bronze medal we won in 2016. But the fact that
the Olympics had managed to take place at all this year is an
accomplishment in and of itself.
In the gaming world, the continued scarcity of the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles meant that scalpers pretty much reigned supreme with jacked up prices on places like eBay. And in the midst of all that, Nintendo released its long-rumored Switch revision. Dubbed the Nintendo Switch OLED, the device sports a slightly bigger 7" OLED display as well as a revised kickstand and dock. It remains to be seen if we're still going to get a full-fledged upgrade for the hybrid console anytime soon, but going by how the Switch continues to outsell both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, it doesn't look like Nintendo is exactly hurting to put one out.
The Japanese company wasn't the only one to announced new hardware in 2021 though. Valve also unveiled the Steam Deck, a portable PC that looks like a souped up Nintendo Switch in its own right. Unlike the Switch though, the new machine promises to be powerful enough to run current-generation games at decent frame rates. The device was supposed to launch this December, but had to be pushed back two additional months to February 2022 due to overall demand and chip shortages. I personally do not plan on getting one, as I spend most of my time at home anyways and thus do not need to carry my Steam library of games around with me on a portable device.
Over on the home front, 2021 has been a good year overall. I finally found something resembling a decent work-life balance, having fully embraced life as a freelancer. I'd written more words than any other year of my life as a result, which also counts for something. The YouTube channel is still going strong, and a couple of important milestones were crossed over the course of the past 12 months. I am currently on the verge of crossing another one right now as a matter of fact, so if you happen to be reading this and are still yet to subscribe, now's the time to do so.
But more than anything, thanks for taking the time to read my random thoughts and ramblings. And may our 2022 be even better than our 2021.
The final film in Warner Bros' campaign to release
its biggest blockbusters simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max has arrived. And I think it is a bit fitting that the movie ended up being The
Matrix Resurrections. The original film in the sci-fi series is still
regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, even though its sequels had quickly fallen victim to the laws of diminishing returns. So the question then is does the
new film manage to live up to the first film's legacy, or is it merely
more philosophical musings akin to its sequels?
I guess I need to start by saying I am one of the few people out there who openly enjoyed The Matrix Revolutions. For all the film's flaws, I had found its conclusion to the trilogy satisfactory enough, as left to interpretation as it was. Most people had taken issue with that ending though and how characters like Trinity were handled in the film. So on that note, the Matrix Resurrections looks like it was almost tailored-made to address those complaints. And therein lie the start of my problems with the film.
But before we get into negatives, let me go over some of the things I did enjoy about the new film. For starters, I loved seeing both Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne-Moss on screen together, kicking butt and generally looking bad ass once again. It was a shame they weren't joined by Laurence Fishburne but I did enjoy Yahya Abdul-Mateen's take on Morpheus.
It was also nice getting to see how both The Matrix and the real world had evolved following the events of the last movie. An uneasy truce had been reached between the humans and the machines at the end of the last film and we get to see some new dynamics to their relationship in this one.
The film is also a lot funnier than I expected, although I suspect that might have more to do with its heavy push for self-awareness. The original trilogy had a few jokes and gags thrown in every now and then, like some of the soundbites used during the famous Burly Brawl, but this one was downright comical, which isn't something I thought I would ever say about a Matrix film.
With all that said, I have to now transition to why I honestly think The Matrix Resurrections is the worst film in the entire series. This is not to say that the film itself is an unmitigated mess like some people think, but just to place it in my ranking of the overall franchise. It is hard to discuss my biggest gripes with the movie without getting into spoilers but I guess they can be summed up in one word: woke. It takes what started as a basic story about self-discovery and tries to mold it into something more palatable by today's standards and it doesn't always succeed at doing so.
Just to be clear, I have no problem at all with roles that get gender swapped in films, or movies that push to be more diverse and inclusive. But when all that happens at the expense of just telling a decent story, it becomes harder to ignore the inherent agenda. But back to the movie itself, which I thought was also a little too reliant on callbacks from the previous films, with so much archival footage and references that it almost felt like being beaten over the head with it.
I am beginning to see a pattern developing with Warner Bros. and its approach to new entries in its legacy properties. It has this tendency to go heavy on the nostalgia factor surrounding these works while throwing the audience knowing winks about the cash-grab nature of reboots and sequels. This was the case in both Scoob! and Space Jam: A New Legacy, and it is certainly the case here in The Matrix Resurrections. Except here it pushes really hard with its meta commentaries that the whole thing soon starts to border on the edge of ridiculous.
The Matrix films are also fondly remembered for pushing the boundaries of special effects in movies, with VFX shots from the first film still holding up surprisingly well today. So of course my expectation going into the new film was that it would continue that trend. Sadly, the effects in The Matrix Resurrections were far from special and sometimes borderline ugly. It also lacks the iconic green hue that was a core part of the previous films' identity, giving the new one an almost made-for-streaming look. This is my way of saying I am happy I got to see the movie at home, because all those visual shortcomings would have looked especially garish sprawled across a massive theater screen.
The Matrix Resurrections is a heavily flawed if somewhat entertaining return to one of the most iconic sci-fi creations ever made. For every good idea the film introduces, it seems to be bogged down by at least two head-scratching ones. This often had me smiling one moment and then rolling my eyes the next. But ultimately,
the movie feels too self-aware and woke for its own good, sacrificing what
could have been a half-decent sequel at the altar of modern-day sensibilities.
The movie industry had suffered a crushing blow last year as a result of the pandemic, which led to a number of movies underperforming at the box office, and others still getting delayed. So at the start of 2021, I was simply hoping for the best when I'd published my list of most anticipated films for the year. Looking back on that list now, I am pleased to note that only one of those films had been pushed further into 2022. For those curious, that film is Morbius, which is currently slated for a January 28th release.
To accommodate the uncertain times, most studios had flirted with the idea of day-and-date release dates for their movies. Or in the case of Warner Bros, wholeheartedly adopted it, a decision that ended up hurting their box office prospects more often than not. But the fact that Spider-Man: No Way Home could gross over $600 million in the opening weekend of its global rollout (sans China) shows just how far we've come since those early days. The recovery is still ongoing though, but here are just a few of the great movies that helped get us to where we are right now this past year.
10. Godzilla vs Kong
While TENET had been originally positioned as the film to get moviegoers back into theaters, it wasn't until we got Godzilla vs Kong earlier this year that moviegoing received the kickstart it was so desperately in need of. It was the first tentpole release that simply demanded to be seen on the big screen, and it helps that the movie itself did not disappoint, delivering on its promise of showing the titular Titans duking it out.
9. Free Guy
Ryan Reynolds is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars right now and he was in not one but three high-profile action movies this year. Of all three films though, Free Guy is easily the best one, a science fiction comedy in which he plays a run-of-the-mill video game NPC that becomes sentient. His charisma was once again on full display and the film itself was a fun thrill ride of a rollercoaster with plenty of heart.
8. Judas and the Black Messiah
With a total of six Oscar nominations under its belt (two of which it had taken home at the prestigious ceremony earlier in the year), Judas and the Black Messiah is easily one of the best films released in 2021. The film was carried by a pair of standout performances from both Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield, as well as an overall solid execution across the board, which is something we only get to see in the very best biopics.
7. Dune
Following a year-long delay, Dune finally hit theaters and HBO Max in October of 2021 with all the grandness one has come to expect from the works of director Denis Villeneuve. His latest sci-fi epic is an adaptation of the eponymous book series by Frank Herbert, covering the events of the first half of the very first book. It was a book I'd grown up loving as a kid and the movie certainly did the source material justice in more ways than one. The second half can't come soon enough.
6. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home was without a doubt the biggest film of 2021. No other movie had that level of hype leading up to its release, nor was there one that delivered the goods as thoroughly. The MCU might have appeared to have peaked with Avengers: Endgame back in 2019, but films like these serve as proof that there is still plenty of gas left in the tank. The Spider-Man fan in me could easily see this film topping this list. But I had to put my fandom and recency bias aside, and give the other solid movies we got this year their due.
5. The Mitchells vs The Machines
Netflix might have been home to some of the year's biggest duds (a film like Thunder Force immediately comes to mind), but it was also home to one of the brightest gems. I am talking about The Mitchells vs. The Machine, a computer-animated film by Sony Pictures Animation that was sold to the streamer during the height of the pandemic. And going by its all-round stellar reviews and reception, the sci-fi comedy is sure to be a frontruner for the Best Animated Film award at the Oscars next year.
4. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Kevin Feige and crew proved in 2021 that the MCU was still full of surprises, with shows like WandaVision and Loki (both of which were featured on my list of favorite TV shows for the year). But I don't believe none were as pleasant as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The film was a love letter to old-timey Chinese martial arts movies and the wuxia genre as a whole, but it was the wholesomeness of the love story at its core that make it one of my best movies of the year.
3. The Green Knight
The Green Knight is an adaptation of the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And anyone who knows anything about my background as a writer should already know my affinity for Arthurian Legend (I'd written 6 books based on some of that legend after all). So I was of course immediately endeared by the very concept of The Green Knight and was stunned by just how brilliant its execution had proven. I've pretty much already done all the gushing I can do for the film in my glowing review, so all I'll add to that is this is a must-watch by anyone that values film as art. It is an endlessly beautiful piece of filmmaking that was lovingly crafted by David Lowery, and it shows.
2. The Suicide Squad
Following the lackluster reception of David Ayer's Suicide Squad in 2016, the prospects of a sequel had seemed somewhat slim to nonexistent. So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when it was first announced that the MCU's very own James Gunn would be taking another stab at Task Force X. The resultant movie has the director's signature style all over it, with over-the-top antics and an overall bonkers chain of events that was never anything but fun to watch. It's a shame the movie didn't do better at the box office, but at least we still have the Peacemaker TV show to look forward to on HBO Max.
1. A Quiet Place Part II
After holding the distinction of being my most anticipated movie for two years in a row, I finally got to see A Quiet Place Part II this past year and it was amazing. The first movie had blown my expectations out of the water, with its tale of a family's survival against impossible odds. And with my love of post-apocalyptic fiction, the film had grown to become my favorite movie for 2018. That nail scene alone was reason enough for it to beat out the likes of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War in doing so. So the fact that the second film not only manages to match the first for sheer thrills, but also expands upon its overall lore and universe without falling into the trap of over explaining everything is an accomplishment that shouldn't be taken lightly. John Krasinki's has shown a mastery of the art of building tension and dread, and it was refreshing to sit in a theater full of people where we all held our collective breaths as the monsters closed in on our heroes. That is the stuff that cinemas were made for, and A Quiet Place Part II delivered it in spades.
A quick disclaimer before I jump into my Top 10 songs for 2021: most of the songs I spent time listening to this past year were either random tunes I had on repeat while I exercised, or old classics I found myself rediscovering. This is not a knock on the quality of the songs we are getting these days by the way, but rather a reflection of the fact that I am getting old and thus nostalgic for those years gone by.
That said, the year still produced or played host to a few standout tracks. 2021 can perhaps be best remembered as the year that afrobeat hit the global stage like never before, invading both the international charts and social media feeds with songs like Love Nwantiti by CKay and Essence by Wizkid & Tems. But out of all the songs that graced the charts and various Spotify playlists during the year, here are the ones I consider my favorite ones.
10. Loud Urban Choir - Bloody Samaritan
I'd be lying if I said I knew who Ayra Starr was just a few short months ago. But after hearing this beautiful rendition of her hit song, Bloody Samaritan, by Lagos-based ensemble group, Loud Urban Choir, she has made a blip on my rusty radar. The cover version transforms an already-catchy song to new heights with some sweet vocal harmonies and a haunting piano backing track.
9. Riton x Nightcrawlers - Friday (ft. Mufasa & Hypeman)
One of the biggest club bangers of the 90s was recently given new life by the antics of Mufasa & Hypeman, two internet personalities who had featured the track in one of their viral skits. So it was only a matter of time before an official remix was made (or in this case, a remix of a remix) in the form of Friday, a crossover between English DJ, Riton, and the OGs themselves, Nightcrawlers.
8. Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits
After taking some considerable time away from the limelight, Ed Sheeran was back with his newest album, =. And that album was ushered in by the lead single, Bad Habits, a song that has the singer-songwriter stepping out of his comfort zone to deliver something different. That the song sounds like a reworked version of the Supermode track, Tell Me Why, only bodes well for its throwback credentials.
7. Tech N9ne - Face Off
With more than 22 albums under his belt and a career spanning two decades, Tech N9ne is one of those rappers that has remained relegated to the underground. Except none of that seemed to matter on the fiery track that is Face Off, a single off his 2021 album, Asin9ne. The song is perhaps most noteworthy for featuring a verse by wrestler turned Hollywood superstar, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
6. Adele - Easy On Me
Another artist that was back in 2021 after an extended hiatus was the British singer, Adele. Her eagerly-anticipated new album, 30, was released on the 19th of November, preceded by its lead single, Easy On Me. The song itself is a ballad that has her once again showcasing her vocal chops, and the album would go on to become the highest-selling for the entire year, as most of her prior albums tended to do.
5. The Kid LAROI - Stay (ft. Justin Bieber)
Justin Bieber has pretty much been in the public eye since he first burst onto the music scene with early hits like Baby. And in the time since then, he's been featured on collaborations with a variety of artists. But something about "Stay" with rising Australian star, The Kid LAROI, seems to signal that it could very well be his best one yet. The song is certainly one of those earworms and shouldn't be out of place on any summer playlist.
4. Grum - Sparkles
I have Spotify to thank for the discovery of this rousing House gem, with the music service finally being expanded to Nigeria this past year. The song is immediately reminiscent of past club anthems from the mid-to-late 2000s, with its pulsating synthesizer riffs and deep bassline. And that the track currently has so few viewers over on YouTube is one of the great injustices of the year in my opinion. But hopefully that changes as more and more people discover it.
3. The Weeknd - Save Your Tears
The Weeknd might have been snubbed by the Grammys two years in a row, but that doesn't mean his music has waned in quality. To the contrary, I would even go as far as stating that his 2020 album, After Hours, has some of his best material to date. He'd released the music video to the track, Save Your Tears, back in January of this year, and the song would even receive a Billboard-topping remix featuring Ariana Grande.
2. Machine Gun Kelly - drunk face
Machine Gun Kelly made the transition from rapper to punk rocker with his 2020 album, Ticket to My Downfall, following a successful collaboration with Blink-182 drummer, Travis Baker. And of all the songs on the album, drunk face captures the classic Blink-182 style the best. It speaks to that carefree, rebellious spirit that was pretty much integral to punk rock as a whole back in its heydays.
1. Dua Lipa - Levitating
That's right folks. My favorite song for 2021 is none other than Levitating by Dua. The song is just one of several bangers to be found on her 2020 album, Future Nostalgia. And while it had officially been released as a single towards the tail end of last year, it is a testament to its staying power that it completely dominated the various pop charts and playlists for most of 2021.
Backed by silky-smooth production from a heavy hitter's list of producers that include Jeff Bhasker and Stuart Price, the song fuses pop and disco elements to create a sound that at once harkens back to Jamiroquai's Cosmic Girl. Add to that similar astronomical themes and lyrics about falling helplessly in love with the boy or girl of your dreams and what we're left with is another bona fide classic for the ages.
