Focus Features dropped the first trailer for their upcoming drama which could be a legitimate player come awards season. “Belfast” is written and directed by Kenneth Branagh who calls this the “most personal” film is his career. It had its world premiere yesterday at the Telluride Film Festival and now sets its eyes on a November theater release. Judging by the first trailer, we may have something pretty special to look forward to.
“Belfast” is set in Northern Ireland during the tumultuous late-1960s. It follows a young boy named Buddy (Jude Hill) who watches the unrest in his city unfold before his eyes. Meanwhile his parents (played by Jamie Dornan and Caitríona Balfe) must decide whether to leave Belfast or stay as the violence and chaos festers. The film also stars Judy Dench, Ciarán Hinds and Lara McDonnell. The trailer is full of sparkling images and has an emotional tug that I wasn’t expecting. I’m really excited for this and it will be interesting to see if Branagh has an Oscar contender on his hands.
“Belfest” lands in theaters November 12th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
And so begins a new era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, I know some rebranding and retooling has already been underway via their Disney+ streaming shows. But this is the MCU’s first big screen endeavor that is untethered from the brand’s most iconic characters – the ones who launched the lucrative multi-pronged franchise into the cinema stratosphere. Gone is Iron Man, Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Hulk. Now enter a new wave of money-making superheroes.
To be totally honest, I find I’m not nearly as jazzed for the MCU now as I was during its previous twenty-some-odd movies. Much of it has to do with the absence of those iconic characters mentioned above. Then you have other factors such as the heart-wrenching loss of Chadwick Boseman, Thor being turned into a comedy act, the up-and-down quality of the streaming shows. And frankly, I’m just not sold that this new, freshly-picked band of superheroes can carry the same weight as their predecessors. Then again, everything Marvel Studios touches turns to gold and its loyal fan base will pretty much follow them wherever they go.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is the 25th big screen installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first to feature a predominately Asian cast. The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and is a huge departure from his previous work that includes smaller and more intimate dramas like “Short Term 12”, “The Glass Castle” and “Just Mercy”. Here Cretton gets full access to Marvel/Disney’s wallet and puts it to good use.
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
“Shang-Chi” wasn’t the easiest sell even with the MCU’s enormous clout. But Kevin Feige and his team of wizards once again show that good casting and a good story will often sell itself. That’s not to say there aren’t flaws. A few issues with the writing and the direction keep “Shang-Chi” from being top-tier MCU. But you’ll find that there is enough scattered throughout the film’s 132 minutes to keep you entertained.
The titular character is played by Simu Liu, a relative newcomer to the big screen who quickly acclimates himself to blockbuster leading man status. His Shang-Chi character is someone who has done everything he could to bury his complicated past. At 7-years-old he was trained by his father Wenwu (Tony Leung) to be an assassin. At 14 he was assigned his first hit. But rather than carrying it out, Shang-Chi fled.
That was 10 years ago. Now Shang-Chi, hiding under the name of Shaun, is in San Francisco working as a hotel valet with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina). But you can only run from your past for so long, especially when your dad is the leader of the ruthless Ten Rings organization. Before long Shang-Chi is fighting off assassins, reconnecting with his estranged sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) and of course coming face-to-face with his father who is empowered by ten magical rings. It’s funny, we never get much of an explanation for the rings – their power, their origin, how they’re wielded, etc. It’s one of several places where the Cretton skimps on the details.
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Simu Liu does well in the lead role, a little stiff at times, but surprisingly witty and lights-out during the fight sequences. The film’s two best action scenes come in the first thirty minutes, one on a bus ride and other along scaffolding attached to a skyscraper. Liu’s physicality is impressive and often breathtaking. Awkwafina gets the short end of the stick. She does the best she can with a script that pins her down as the overly chatty comic relief. The rare dramatic moments we get from her are really good. But far too often she’s reserved to being the jokey sidekick.
The great Tony Leung brings several layers of emotional complexity to the reworked Wenwu. He’s not just some nefarious powermonger who’s really mean to his children. We learn he is a man driven mad by grief. He and his family fell apart following the death of his wife and Shang-Chi’s mother Jiang Li (played by Fala Chen who gives what may be the movie’s best performance). Now he’s on a misguided quest that’s driven by a relatable pain but carried out with a sociopathic edge.
Several other great faces pop up along the way. The always terrific Michelle Yeoh plays Shang-Chi’s aunt and the guardian of a hidden mystical land called Ta Lo. There are a couple more appearances that I’ll let you discover for yourself, but both are fantastic for much different reasons. On the more frustrating side, the movie introduces us to Death-Dealer (Andy Le), a lethal assassin for the Ten Rings who has an interesting history in the comics. Here he is a captivating and menacing presence through most of the film only to end up wasted. It’s similar to the Taskmaster botch in “Black Widow”.
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
“Shang-Chi” starts strong and sets itself up well. But then we get to the much slower middle that gets bogged down sifting through all of the old family baggage. What makes it drag is the strange choice to explain the family history through exposition only to then show it visually through flashbacks (with a few extra details). It’s actually interesting and I applaud the writing team for taking the time to flesh out these relationships. But the pacing is too slow and it leaves us hungry for the next action bit.
Later on things move to the fantastical as we’re introduced to flying soul-suckers, water dragons and the mysterious Dark Gate. As before, none of them are explained particularly well. You’re supposed to just go with it. And in keeping with the standard MCU formula, it all leads to a big, loud, CGI-soaked finale – quite possibly the most CGI-heavy finish they’ve done yet (and that’s saying something). For the most part it looks good, but the visuals can get a little murky and it reaches a point where some of Cretton’s shots start to feel repetitive.
Still, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is a nice new installment into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The awesome fight choreography hearkens back to the heyday of classic Kung Fu cinema which goes nicely with the cool nods to everything from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to “Jurassic Park”. The deeper story of a young man wrestling with his past and eventually finding himself is a good one and the wonderful cast help bring that story to life. Unfortunately the nagging issues do bring it down a bit. But the movie still feels fresh and it ultimately delivers where it counts most. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” opens in theaters today.
The upcoming action-comedy-thriller “Red Notice” sees streaming giant Netflix pouring in more money on one film than at any time in their company’s history. This big sprawling blockbuster comes from writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber and stars the high-profile trio of Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. Netflix hasn’t told us much about their Fall tentpole, but they have finally dropped the first trailer.
“Red Notice” sees the beefy Johnson playing the FBI’s top profiler who is on the trail of two rival criminals (Gadot and Reynolds). At first the three are at odds, but the trailer teases a potential partnership that should lead to a healthy platter of action and comedy. There’s still a lot we don’t know about this movie, but this first bite is pretty tasty. It could be a fun big-budget distraction and right in the middle of the super-serious awards season. Sounds good to me.
“Red Notice” premieres November 12th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Sometimes you go into a movie with a sinking feeling in your stomach. You aren’t at all excited for what you’re about to see. Or at best you’re completely indifferent. Maybe the trailer left a bad impression. Maybe you just know the movie isn’t for you. Yet you see it anyway, clinging to a thin thread of hope that you’ll be surprised. Taking the chance that you may have misjudged it. Saying with all the optimism you can muster, “Maybe this isn’t the movie I thought it would be.”
“Cinderella” is exactly the movie I thought it would be.
“Pitch Perfect” scribe Kay Cannon writes and directs yet another version of the Charles Perrault classic, this one originally under the Sony umbrella but sold to Amazon to be released this weekend on Prime streaming. While they share the same name, “Cinderella” 2021 has little in common with the other versions outside of the basic details. Instead what we get here is an aggressively modernized reimagining with what seems like a poorly veiled distaste for the fairytale that inspired it.
While I’m not sure anyone was clamoring for a new “Cinderella” movie, Cannon’s musical version had some promise. But it’s too preoccupied with highlighting its own forward-thinking and wedging in every policy from the progressive playbook. There’s no nuance, subtlety or cleverness to be found anywhere in this laughably heavy-handed reinvention. We see the politics everywhere, but where’s the magic?
Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios
To clarify, Cannon has a tale that’s ready-made for a fun and enlightened update. The story of female empowerment and following one’s dreams should inspire any young girl. And its critique of a backwards male-dominated society speaks to issues that still have relevance today. But do we really go to a “Cinderella” movie for what it has to say about the coal industry or military spending?
Some of this would be easier to digest if the story itself wasn’t so flat. We get a few flashes of originality, but the movie ends up backing itself into a corner and routinely falls into traps that it itself set. Meanwhile characters are nothing but a swirl of bland caricatures. In fairness, some of this is due to classic story which most of us know by heart. But it’s still reasonable to expect the characters to be interesting, especially in a movie that makes such a big deal out of distancing itself from the other adaptations. They aren’t.
And the music isn’t much better. Weird covers of songs by Janet Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Salt-N-Pepa, Ed Sheeran and others too often sounds like group karaoke rather than movie musical numbers. And even the songs by pop-star Camil Cabello (the film’s lone burst of genuine energy) quickly begin sounding exactly the same.
The film’s on-the-nose introduction gives you a good sense of where its head is at – “Once upon a time there was an old-fashioned kingdom bound by tradition.” From there we’re introduced to Ella (Cabello), an aspiring fashion designer who’s far more interested in owning her own dress shop than finding her Prince Charming. Unfortunately she’s stuck under the same roof as her wicked stepmother Vivian (Idina Menzel in a thankless role). While Ella is full of her own dreams, Vivian submits whole-heartedly to the kingdom’s patriarchy. And she’s determined to make sure her girls do too.
Image Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Meanwhile in the lavish castle on the hill lives the cartoonishly thickheaded King Rowan (Pierce Brosnan), his remarkably dull wife Queen Beatrice (Minnie Driver), his hyper-leftist daughter Gwen (Tallulah Greive) and of course his son Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine), who is (reluctantly) next in line for the crown. The King, who’s more worried about his power and perception than his son’s wishes, insists that Robert find him a wife. So what does any good house of royalty do? You throw a ball!
You know where it goes from there. With the help of a little magic (and I mean very little) Ella goes to the ball where the nobleman and the commoner fall for each other. But Ella is no stay-at-castle kind of girl. She has her own aspirations and enough girl-power to see them come true. It’s the only real twist to the classic story that’s remotely interesting. Unfortunately it too is glaringly predictable and ends with a rather underwhelming thud.
The film takes several big swings at comedy and pretty much misses every time. The biggest whiff comes with Billy Porter’s loud and garish performance as the Fabulous Fairy Godmother. It’s essentially Billy Porter playing Billy Porter and mercifully it’s only one (albeit long) scene. Speaking of distractions, producer James Corden sticks himself into the movie playing a talking mouse turned human footman. If you thought the viral video of him dancing in a mouse costume was bad, wait till you see this.
“Cinderella” ends up being a movie that’s so enamored with giving the classic fairytale a makeover that it forgets everything else. It’s a musical without good songs. It’s a comedy that isn’t funny. It’s a romance that lacks spark. The biggest casualty is Cabello who has some noticeable charm and even a little swagger which I liked. But material like this doesn’t highlight any of her acting or musical strengths. In fact it doesn’t highlight much of anything other than the fact that we really didn’t need another Cinderella movie. “Cinderella” premieres tomorrow (September 3rd) in theaters and on Amazon Prime streaming.
It’s hard not to be excited about a movie with names like Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Oscar Isaac and Willem Dafoe attached. It’s Schrader’s first film since his stellar “First Reformed” and the trailers have looked pretty great. Now Focus Features has given us some terrific new posters for their upcoming crime drama that has all the ingredients to be something special.
DIRECTOR – Paul Schrader
WRITER – Paul Schrader
STARRING – Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan
When terrorists took down the two towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 it shook an entire nation. But for the families and loved ones of the 2,977 people who died, their lives were forever changed. These families are an essential part of director Sara Colangelo’s new Netflix feature “Worth”. Her film debuted way back at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and finally hits the streaming platform this weekend.
Based on a true story, this absorbing legal drama follows Ken Feinberg (Michael Keaton), an attorney who takes on the daunting task of heading the government’s September 11th Victim Consolation Fund. As Special Master his unenviable job is to figure out how much compensation each victim’s family would receive. It’s a job no one wants, but it’s something Ken thinks he can do to help. He has noble intentions, even insisting on working pro bono. But he’s someone who tends to look at numbers more than people which proves to be the wrong approach.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
On the surface the victim’s fund sounds virtuous, but there are other motives at work. The government hopes to avoid crippling civil lawsuits against airline companies that could potentially crater the economy. So the grieving family would get tax-free money from the government in exchange for their pledge to never sue the airlines involved. Ken gets caught in the middle of an array of conflicts he hadn’t accounted for.
Ken’s formula for calculating payments is based on a number of factors. But he quickly learns it isn’t as easy as throwing some figures on a check. Who’s eligible; who gets how much; where does Ken and his team draw the line? The process proves messy and with countless human variables factoring in. It’s made worse by Ken underestimating the still raw emotions. In his efforts to be neutral he comes across as cold and aloof. It quickly puts him in the crosshairs of the rightfully skeptical public.
Colangelo and writer Max Borenstein do a good job of defining Ken as more than some uncaring federal suit. Like all of us he felt the jolt of 9/11. As many did, he sat up through the night after the attack watching the news in quiet shock. He has a compassionate heart, but it’s lost under his by-the-book business-like exterior. He talks more than he listens. He focuses so much on the task at hand that he misses the human component.
While much of the film plays like a captivating procedural, “Worth” is also about Ken’s evolution as a human being. His encounters with various families leaves a lasting impact and causes him to change the way he looks at his process. The biggest influence is Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), an advocate on behalf of the victims whose own wife died in the 9/11 attacks. “Everything about this fund offends me,” Charles says. When their together, the two give us some of the film’s best scenes.
Image Courtesy of Netflix
Calangelo impresses most with her ability to balance the enlightening legal proceedings with the heavier emotional elements of the story. She brings a sensitive and empathetic touch while also showing a remarkable amount of restraint. There’s no big “Oscar moment” and the movie never panders to awards season voters the way some weighty dramas tend to do. Instead she trusts her material and her cast led by a stellar Michael Keaton. Brandishing a thick Massachusetts accent, Keaton gives another lights-out performance. And he’s helped by great supporting work from Tucci, Amy Ryan, Shunori Ramanthan and a scene-steaming Laura Benanti.
“Worth” picks out and then leans a little too heavily on a couple of victim’s stories, milking them dry in an effort to drive home certain messages. And there are a handful of odd choices that stick out like a sore thumb (a phone call with then president George Bush is particularly jarring). But those few hiccups are easy to look past when the rest of the movie features such smart direction, a genuinely gripping story and a nomination-worthy Michael Keaton performance. Hopefully Netflix puts some energy into getting this movie out there. It deserves an audience. “Worth” premieres this Friday (September 3rd) on Netflix.
Keith & the Movies 