The first thing you have to know about Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Just Mercy” is it’s a film with awards-worthy form. Heck, if the Academy won’t recognize it as such, every person who goes to watch it in the cinemas would. The dramatic biopic centers on a young, idealistic lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, whose first decision out of Harvard is to move to Alabama and provide legal services to the convicts in death row.
Every case he takes on is a life-or-death fight where justice is painstakingly sought in the American penal system—a system riddled with widespread corruption and unexamined racism that strips innocent people of their humanity.
The Angels have gone global. Before you head to the cinemas, let one thing be clear: 2019’s “Charlie’s Angels” isn’t an attempt to blow over the iconic film that came decades before it. This is not a reboot (at least, not strictly one). All it wants is try to kick in new life to a legacy. And it does—in the most hilarious and fun ways possible.
Perhaps the trickiest part is to assemble a trio that’s equally as charming and lovely as its 2000 cast. The movie needed girls you’d want to root for. But, more importantly, girls who aren’t just a replicate of the Diaz-Liu-Barrymore tandem.
I’m happy to report that Naomi Scott, Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska rose to the challenge. With great chemistry, better comedic pulses and depth in characters, the three actresses are a delight to watch together on screen.
Mounting a sequel to one of the most iconic films in pop culture takes courage. In fact, it almost sounds like a terrible idea. As daunting as the work he had to bring to the big screen, Mike Flanagan masterfully wields a modern thriller to succeed the events of “The Shining.”
Known for his horror flicks, Flanagan (who also edited the film) is able to brand “Doctor Sleep” as entirely his own—the movie reflects his distinct style yet dutifully pays homage to the both the works of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King.
Although quite unfocused, the director found the middle ground of Kubrick and King’s visions. Flanagan also opens up opportunities for the audience to interpret the symbolisms (or more accurately, parallelisms) he had embedded into the narrative. What “The Shining” had in the intensity of its suspense, “Doctor Sleep” makes up for depth of story.
Joaquin Phoenix has made “Joker” his own masterpiece.
You probably already know that, with the movie being tagged as Octoberʼs must-see film. But be warned, director Todd Phillips wastes no time on gratifying moments.
“Joker” isnʼt the type of film that consoles you once it has doused you with such dark realities. Instead, it leaves you with questions youʼll eventually allow to rob you of sleep. Itʼs a disruptive and depressing experience that begins with such heartbreaking vulnerability and follows through with unflinching violence.
We first meet Arthur Fleck as a kind and loving son who survives the day-to-day with his job as a clown. Heʼs honest, hopeful. He dreams of becoming a successful stand-up comedian—heʼs got all the notes on punchlines, but his humor isnʼt quite in sync with his audience.
“I hope my death makes more cents” is one of the lines Arthurʼs got scribbled on his notebook.
Quentin Tarantino brings us to a facet in history where truth and fiction reside. It is a film that motions us into a recalibrated past, where the camera moves us along like a spectator right in the sidelines of its scenes. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” essentially a tale about loyalty and friendship, thrills and humors us from the get-go.
It’s got a stellar cast led by Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt, where the two play an inseparable duo of a Western leading man and his trusty stunt double, respectively. Don’t be fooled by the roles they play, these two superstars go off in equal footing. If anything, Pitt’s heroics actually outshine the brilliance of the Dicaprio’s fleeting moments of self-discovery.
It’s been more than two decades and we’ve gone through 23 films to complete the “Infinity Saga.” But even with the oversaturation of superhero films shown in recent years, Marvel has never failed to stun us with the tapestry it has patiently designed.
Its latest film in the cinemas, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” shows the ingenuity of every direction the studio has taken—every little deviation from the comics, introduction of unexpected mentorships, and significant changes in the characterization of its iconic heroes, just to bring us what we are meant to see on the big screen today.
The final chunk of Phase 3 is where we rediscover the joy of understanding the grander scheme of things. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe lost a great leader in Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), we are sent back to a world that is desperate for a new hero to step up. It is in one of the MCU’s closely intertwined stories where we find a young hero forced to emerge as a reassuring new beacon of security. It’s a role that has been passed on, decided by Stark himself. Yes, even in death, Iron Man’s the hero.
Sure, it’s easy to dismiss it as another Fox superhero film that flopped, but such great injustice have been committed against the mutants (yet again). As the credits of “Dark Phoenix” took over the emptiness of the screen, my brows were knit in a tight furrow, wondering which element of the film’s convoluted plot I can tag as the culprit of its demise.
Perhaps the high expectations for the film were rooted in the fact that Simon Kinberg was in control, the so-called X-Men architect in the realm of films. However, his directorial debut was riddled with muddled motivations for each character, that is, if they weren’t tossed in the sidelines.
Jean Grey’s transmutation into the Dark Phoenix felt flat. In the simplest words of the English language:It was boring. But it certainly didn’t feel that way in the beginning—the first moments of the film showed promise, depicting the poignance of trauma and feeling of isolation embedded in the character’s origin story.
Except they cut that narrative short. They give us another emotive and moving Charles X. Xavier speech—in which he tells Jean: “You are not broken”—to close that chapter. The film jumps immediately to the mutants donning their iconic X-Men jumpsuits, putting their lives at risk as they go on a space mission.
The thing about messing with the classics is that it only allows a slim room for errors. The public is ruthless with their expectations and can be unforgiving. But Disney’s 2019 live-action adaptation of “Aladdin” need not worry about measuring up to its 1992 counterpart.
The film entices the senses with its constant motion and endless flashing of colors, and delivers the beloved folklore in a grandiosity of scale and opulence that immediately separates it from its source material. Its respect and awe for Arabic culture is an infectious fascination. Every scene of the film manages to cast its own enamoring enchantment, transporting every viewer to a fantastic land laced with magical realism.
Pikachu doesn’t just talk, he’s got some sass. This particular Pokémon sure has evolved on the screen in ways we didn’t expect it to. In the first live-action film of the Pokémon series, moviegoers are allowed inside the head of the franchise’s undoubtedly most famous character—a cuddly yellow electric mouse. “Detective Pikachu” is essentially science fiction for kids—and, more importantly, kids at heart. That’s what makes this movie special. It transforms the wildest of fiction into some sort of reality—a reality generations of fans have longed to be part of. As it shows a world where the fauna are different Pokémon types, it does nothing but reinforce that longtime geeky wish to have Pokemon in real life.
Long lines in the cinemas. Cryptic status updates about the movie. Annoying people who think spoilers would make them cool. Rotten Tomatoes rating. These are only some of the things that a Marvel fan who hasn’t seen “Endgame” yet can feel frustrated about. Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll get your turn soon, and when you do I promise it’s one of the best [Marvel] films you’ve ever watched.
Here’s how you can prepare for an awesome movie experience:
Rewatch “Infinity War”
It’s been a year since Thanos’ snap made half of the population turn into dust, and you probably need to be reminded how our favorite heroes lost the most important battle of their lives. You need to go into the theaters angry, hopeless, and impossibly optimistic that the Avengers can pull off just one more miracle for the sake of its cinematic universe.
You have to revisit the exact same moment where the story was cut off to be completely immersed in “Endgame.”
Choose your movie buddies wisely
Like I have once said before, everyone has the right to enjoy “Endgame.” There are many of us who have been following this cinematic universe for half of our lives, but that doesn’t put us on a pedestal. It does, however, make it necessary for hardcore fans to choose their movie-going crowd. Watch it with people who you know will enjoy it and will spend time digesting the film with you afterwards. “Endgame” takes on deep (and lasting) emotional tolls, that even the best fan theorists would need at least a week to process a culmination of an iconic superhero era.
Eat a heavy meal
Eating inside the cinemas is simply a distraction.
Bring a pack of tissues. Or maybe two.
Take it from Chris Evans, who reportedly cried six times while watching the film—and he even knew what was going to happen. If you ask me, I only cried once but it lasted all throughout the film (but Thor and Ant-Man gave fleeting comic relief in between).
There are no after-credits scenes
Save your bladder and run your way to the restrooms. The film is extremely long (but will never be long enough for my Marvel-loving heart) and has no room for you to even blink. Every second of it is essential and there should be no one leaving the theaters for a quick visit to the loo. The Russo brothers have thought this through, believe me. While it goes against Marvel tradition, the rolling of credits straight into blackout doesn’t mess with the film’s glorious momentum.
If you ask me, maybe you can stay until you see the six original Avengers’ names on the screen. Even that can easily make you tear up.
Put eating a cheeseburger on your post-Endgame plans
It’s the ultimate comfort food you’ll be needing after watching this film. Trust me. Again, an American cheeseburger—and maybe a shawarma, too?
Save money for a second viewing
“Endgame” is the kind of movie you’d want to see again and again, even if that means you’ll go broke.
Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios. “Avengers: Endgame” is showing in cinemas nationwide.
There can only be a few words that can describe the magnitude of greatness “Endgame” turned out to be. I can do a mental search of adjectives to match the intensity of praise it requires and deserves, only to find myself with the most common phrase to tell all its fans: You have to see it for yourselves.
Now I can’t exactly say the Russo Brothers have outdone themselves, but they did hit every expectation every fan had going into the cinemas. “Endgame” is the only Avengers film where they have complete command of one’s attention and emotion with every single scene they have set on the screen. In a screwed up sense, Thanos’ snap did bring balance. “Endgame” brings forth the proper culmination a decade’s worth of films needed—finally.
The anticipation “Endgame” drew from the world is actually one that it deserves. It wouldn’t be owing its blockbuster numbers just because it’s some monumental piece—a celebration of a cinematic universe—much like “Infinity War” did. That one felt too much like a calculated move to bring every known hero together, a jumble of frustrating scenes only meant to be a setting piece.
Sure enough, the Avengers film that came before it gave its viewers thrilling and visceral action, and undeniably handed its fans devastating losses. But the thing is, it was meant to only give us exactly that—and did so only at the latter parts of that movie. It was made to be a cliffhanger and nothing more.
The gravity and core the story Marvel has patiently built lies in “Endgame.” Here, fans become witnesses to every fiber of humanity our heroes have (left) in them (except, of course, for Carol Danvers).
“I keep telling people to move on. Some do, but we don’t,” Captain America (Chris Evans) tells Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) after half the population of Earth vanished. Loss lingers longer than we imagined. “Endgame” does not fail to explore how Thanos’ act affected the lives of those who survived it. Time has made one Avenger a drunk, and the other, a vigilante. The mix of guilt, grief, regret, and hunger for justice aren’t just part of the story, it is the story itself. It explores our heroes’ helplessness and the tone is bleak for the most part.
But that’s exactly why this movie thrives: It actually turns the focus on its characters. The interconnectedness of the realities to which they belong to is no longer the emphasis of the story. It dedicates itself to emotion, which covers new grounds that make us understand exactly what our heroes are made of—their insecurities, fears, and what they value. The very essence of this film is to wield the emotion that brings into balance the action “Infinity War” has shown. But that doesn’t mean “Endgame” doesn’t pull out one heck of a final battle. It does and it’s unlike any we’ve seen before—it’s pure heart-racing majesty on screen. Viewers are latched onto every character’s struggle to win and survive at all costs. It is a battle we’ve been groomed to be emotionally invested in all these years—it’s a movie that makes their triumph ours to claim as well.
Each discovery is climactic. Every part of it is as momentous as its end. Marvel even attempts to blend all the genres it has experimented with, retaining the humor most moviegoers familiar with thanks to films like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Ant-Man,” and “Thor: Ragnarok.” And perhaps these slapstick moments may be the only scenes that don’t bring you into tears.
In a way, “Endgame” is a lot like the movies we’ve already seen: Hope is taken when it is most needed, and brought back by the most likely of circumstances. But “Endgame” is everything a fan had hoped it would be: A great narrative that carves itself a place in the history of reels, and makes a home at the heart of contemporary pop culture.
“The Avengers” have gloriously gone full circle, where the beginning is only as meaningful as the end. Yes, by that I mean Tony Stark.
VINNY VERDICT: 5/5
Photos courtesy of Marvel Studios. “Avengers: Endgame” is showing in cinemas nationwide.
The last time we saw Spider-Man on our screens, he immortalized this line: “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.” But it seems like the young hero, along with half of the universe, was able to survive Thanos’ wipeout after all. Let’s be honest: We knew “Endgame” would undo the deaths of the film that came before it. But even in the out-of-this-world Marvel Cinematic Universe, shit like that change you (Cue “Iron Man 3”).
In the official trailer of “Far From Home,” we see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) packing for a trip to Europe with MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and the rest of the gang. He decides to skip on his heroic duties on this vacation, but as Marvel fans know by now, the Avengers are such strong magnets to trouble.
We’re beyond excited to see how Jon Watts along with screenplay writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have decided to continue this geeky and rookie chapter of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. So far, its one and only trailer was dropped and we already have so many questions running in our heads. These are some of them:
I’ll get straight to the point. “Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald” is an overambitious yet underwhelming addition to the Potterverse. But—yes, here’s the absolutely divisive catch—the way it wields magic on the screen is still as jaw-dropping as ever.
While it’s a reunion between director David Yates and JK Rowling (who’s now in charge of the franchise’s screenplay), the sequel takes on a different tone. One that is grimmer than the first, with a certain swiftness that is nothing but an illusion.
Ricky Nierva can make an entire room laugh. But he second guesses his own punchlines and always has to make himself clear—“these are the jokes, people,” he says.
The Pixar animator has been with the film studio for two decades, and has the prized Woody statue to show for it. This certified PixNoy, which stands for Pinoys working at Pixar, came home to inspire young aspiring animators at the first Comic Con Asia last March.
“If you have any dreams of being in animation, I’m here to tell you one important thing: It’s possible,” Ricky shares to an audience of art students and Pixar fans of all ages.
“I want you to know that the things that you do will be shared to the world,” he adds.
Getting the whole world entertained is clearly a herculean task. But it is one quest Pixar takes on one blockbuster hit after another, even it requires at least four whole years to come up with a single but great story to tell. One that is built on research, visual story and even inclusivity.
And Ricky helps paint that story on the big screen.
Shivers down my spine, a clench in my throat. This deserves an Oscar, I thought. In my mind I gave a thousand applause for A Star Is Born as the credits finally roll in.
In his directorial debut, Bradley Cooper tells a serendipitous romance that keeps both its characters and the audience in the moment. Cropping each frame purposely in each of the leads’ line of sight, he delivers a story in an immersive and intimate manner.
We meet Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) in the same pace as the leads actually do. That makes every evoked emotion on screen so raw, so authentic that it’s inevitable not to be swayed.
I know every Marvel fan just couldn't wait for the next MCU phase to launch. With movies like the Avengers 4, Captain Marvel (hello, Jude Law), and Spider-Man: Far From Home in the 2019 roster, we just can't help but look forward to the next compelling arcs that will further the string of narratives we have grown to love. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also celebrating its 10th year anniversary. It's a chance to look back on the marvelous world it managed to create on the big screen--one defying time and gravity, introducing otherworldly realms, and ultimately bringing the world's mightiest heroes together.
