Bad Movie Tuesday: Fatal Exam (1988, or 1990), a lame 80s horror slasher movie that deserves to remain forgotten.
MY CALL: First off, please do not confuse this with the cult classic Final Exam (1981). This movie is boring, horrible and… boring. I won’t get these two hours of my life back. Don’t watch it. I hated this. Truly… I’m never watching it again. MORE MOVIES LIKE Fatal Exam: You should probably watch Prince of Darkness (1987) or Final Exam (1981) instead. No further explanation needed.
The premise feels like it’s playing off the story of The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982) as a group of college students are recruited by their parapsychology professor to spend a weekend in a purportedly haunted murder house in lieu of taking a final exam. Naturally, the students opted for the murderhouse weekend. LOL. During this excursion the students are to perform experiments and, you’d expect anyway, that weird things would start happening.
I’m 54 minutes into this movie and all that’s happened is someone probably dreamed seeing a severed head in a coffee table. That’s it… in 54 minutes? I’m about to quit writing horror reviews. This movie is beyond lame.
Eventually they witness the sword-wielding ghost of a man who hacked up his wife years ago. Why a sword, you may ask? Because the filmmakers probably had access to a free prop—and it was a sword. As something of a story begins to unfold, I remain incredibly bored. The story is dumb. The exposition is dumb. The red herrings are dumb. I kind of want all these students to just leave the house and take the paper exam so we can roll the credits.
In the basement they discover a hidden trap door leading deep below the house. It doesn’t lead anywhere satisfying. When a cloaked killer emerges with a scythe, we witness a horrendously clunky death scene. I mean, a scythe is not meant for the close-quarters environment of a basement stairway. Worst death scene ever. I might have to drop this into the forbidden zone of unwatchable movies with Boardinghouse (1982).
Having now seen all three films in my Home-Grown Horrors volume 1 pack from Vinegar Syndrome, I can confidently place this movie well below the actually pretty cool Winterbeast (1992), and even below the regrettably bad Beyond Dream’s Door (1989). Still, for the sake of some very weird, basically lost-in-time movies, the Home-Grown horrors pack may just be right up your alley.
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Annette (2021) – Review: A Wildly Original Musical That is Easily One of the Best Films of 2021
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Annette is a wildly creative musical that features a career best performance from Adam Driver.
When it was first announced that Leos Carax (watch Holy Motors now) would be directing a musical co-written by Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks (watch The Sparks Brothers now), you couldn’t help but be excited about the final product. The cast has changed since Adam Driver and Rooney Mara signed on in 2016, but the addition of Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, and Simon Helberg (who got his French citizenship so he could be in the film) have given it a welcome pedigree of dedicated performers. You won’t see a more thoroughly realized vision in 2021, as Annette plays exactly like a Carax and Sparks project should play, as it’s funny, dark, violent, lyrical, creative, bleak, and uncompromising.
The film focuses on the relationship between famed opera singer Ann Defrasnoux (Cotillard), and comedian Henry McHenry (Adam Driver). The two love each other a lot, but their careers take wildly different turns as the apple-loving Ann becomes a worldwide phenom, while Henry’s career falters as his shock-jock-esque stylings find him tanking shows, and retreating into alcoholism and violence. The two also have a daughter named Annette (who is a marionette puppet – you get used to it), who ends up getting exploited when Henry learns she has a beautiful singing voice. To say more, would do the film a disservice, as it’s full of surprises that you shouldn’t know about. What should you know? There are actually nine puppets used throughout the film, the actors sang all of their songs live on set, and the cinematography by Caroline Champetier (Holy Motors) is wildly ambitious, as it allows for long takes that capture full musical performances.
It will be interesting to see how people who’ve never seen Holy Motors, or know nothing about Sparks, react to Annette. There will be zero primer for the experience, and it would be cool to see it in a packed theater of people not knowing what they are in for. It’s a wildly original 140-minute film that loads up on repetitive song numbers, dark themes and lots of sex. If you know about Carax and Sparks, the movie makes a lot of sense, and isn’t in any way a surprise, as they’ve always pushed boundaries and appreciated the weird in life. As mentioned before, Annette is a 140-minute film that features a marionette puppet (that the actors sometimes had to manipulate) as a core character. It’s almost as if Carax and Sparks want to exhaust and test the audience, and if you start feeling like it’s too weird, just know that the creators want to challenge you, and have worked tirelessly to bring something unique into your life.
Final Thoughts – Annette is easily one of my favorite 2021 films, and it’s cool seeing a movie that avoids VFX, embraces music, and has no interest in being like anything else.
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John’s Horror Corner: Demonic (2021), Neill Blomkamp’s new VR-based horror is exactly that—all virtual, no soul.
MY CALL: Not to be confused with the James Wan-produced Demonic (2015), which was also a big miss with a major name in horror attached to it. This film is one of the least interesting virtual reality-based horror movies I’ve seen even though it was made by a generally riveting visionary filmmaker. I don’t know what happened here. MORE MOVIES LIKE Demonic: For more VR(ish) sci-horror, try The Lawnmower Man (1992), Arcade (1993), Existenz (1999) or The Cell (2000).
I realize it’s been a while since his last feature film, although he’s kept busy with edgy, gory, heavily stylized Sci-Horror short films lately. So what stands out to me most in the first 50 minutes of this movie is how it specifically does not feel like it was directed or written by Neill Blomkamp (Elysium, Zygote, Chappie). This feels more mainstream; more generic, even if well-produced. And that’s a shame.
Years after her mother’s incarceration, Carly (Carly Pope; Elysium, Rakka) is approached by medical researcher Michael (Michael J Rogers; Beyond the Black Rainbow) running an experimental program to communicate with comatose patients in a virtual medium—that is, a virtual space in the patient’s mind. It is through these means that Michael wants Carly to contact her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt; District 9, Doomsday) in virtual reality. And while we don’t know his exact motives, they certainly seem to be deeper than a clinical interest in his patient.
The simulation scenes should feel otherworldly, disarming and unnerving. Whereas here I find they are not very captivating at all—even mundane. Various signs point to something malevolent in the simulation influencing Angela and, eventually, Carly. Given the title of the film, we all know where this is going. A demon. All I can think at this point is, please be nothing like Incarnate (2016). Or more specifically, please be better than Incarnate (2016).
Watching the VR scenes is like watching a modern videogame down to the bird’s eye views of the hero character. It’s a bit stylish, but not enough to impress and it doesn’t lead us anywhere promising. I wanted harrowing. I wanted the reality rug yanked out from under me. But nothing of the sort. This VR simulation into the mind of a demon-haunted, comatose, violent felon was rather… boring. I mean, remember The Cell (2000)? Now that was a scintillating mindscape.
The first “big scare” (in sarcastic air quotes) feels like something from an inferior direct-to-streaming horror movie. The monstrous imagery feels very familiar, uninteresting and, frankly, very played out. Moreover, these troped up horrors aren’t even delivered in any sort of new or different way. The VR mindscape is a poor man’s “The Further” and our demon feels like a second-string Insidious (2011) fiend using a human to cross into our realm.
Oh my, and religious SWAT gear with crosses emblazoned on shoulder pads…? That’s not a good sign. But this movie was already a lost cause. I find not a trace of Neill Blomkamp’s filmmaking DNA in this film. The characters are weak, the premise is “meh”, the effects are not impressive, and nothing about this felt inspired. And THAT is what I normally think of when Neill Blomkamp comes to mind: inspired filmmaking, writing and direction. This movie has no soul.
Bad news. It’s no better than Incarnate (2016). Sigh. What happened here? I once thought that Neill Blomkamp could do no wrong, yet everything here seems wrong (for the caliber I’ve come to expect from him anyway). This may be a passable middle-of-the-road horror movie. But as a big Blomkamp fan, I didn’t care for this at all. Nope.
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John’s Horror Corner: Gaia (2021), a pretty weird, mildly trippy South African ‘sort of’ eco-horror film.
MY CALL: A weird film crossing earthly mysticism with infection tropes, dogmatic fanaticism, and adversarial fungal organisms. Very cool ideas and visuals accompany these themes, but it wasn’t nearly as trippy or thrilling as the trailer suggested. The film neither wows nor feels like something I’ve seen before. But make no mistake. It’s good. MORE MOVIES LIKE Gaia: For more mycological horror I’d recommend The Superdeep (2020) and maybe Shrooms (2007; which I have not seen). But most closely this movie reminds me of The Hallow (2015).
Extending well past its broad sweeping opening shots of this African habitat, constant photography of the jungle from various angles transports us to this tropical, remote location as park rangers Winston (Anthony Oseyemi; Dead Places) and Gabi (Monique Rockman; Nommer 37) routinely check their forest cameras for their research.
Plucked by a gaunt survivalist and his son, the camera lingers on a mushroom as its spores are swept away in a light current of air. Mushrooms and various fungi are the prevalent theme. These woodsmen, Barend (Carel Nel; Raised by Wolves) and his quiet son Stefan (Alex van Dyk), aid Gabi when she injured in the forest by one of their traps intended for wild game. We soon learn Gabi’s rescuers worship some aspect of nature among them as a deity, and we wander into some curiously religious-pagan territory.
Before long Winston and Gabi suffer what seem to be delusions, some clearly just dream-like visions, others seeming quite real. These visions include screeching monstrosities in the forest that can be found in no biological field guide, the supernaturally rapid growth of plant life as it reaches for its fare, and fungal/lichen growths emerging from skin. Visions of bodily fungal infection abound.
Weird film. It crosses bits of religion fused with earthly mysticism into blatant infection tropes, and wrestles with the notion of trying to psychologically rescue someone from a dependent cult-like upbringing. There’s nothing ground-breaking here, but it’s a solid movie and it doesn’t feel like something I’ve seen before. I’m very satisfied with it, but it’s not the kind of film I expect to feel compelled to revisit.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 384 – The Visit, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and M. Night Shyamalan
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Mark and Victor Dandridge Jr. (AKA – The Hardest Working Man in Comcis – @VantageInHouse on Twitter) discuss the 2015 film The Visit. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and starring Ed Oxenbould, Olivia DeJonge, Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, the movie focuses on what happens when two teenagers spend a horrible week with their grandparents. In this episode, they talk about found footage movies, pineapple upside down cake, and the filmography of M. Night Shyamalan. Enjoy!
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If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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Quick Thoughts – Grade – B – Vacation Friends is a fun R-rated comedy that features likable performances and several memorable moments that will make you cringe, laugh, and cringe more. If you’re looking for a comedy that embraces every comedy trope, but still feels unique, you will love Vacation Friends.
Directed by Clay Tarver (Silicon Valley) and starring Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, John Cena and Meredith Hagner, Vacation Friends wraps up the summer movie season nicely with a tale about what happens when a conversative couple meets a pair of maniacs while vacationing in Mexico. Hopefully the Hulu release won’t totally bury the movie, because there’s a lot to enjoy about the comedy, as it features inspired gags involving drugs, jet skis, booze, awkward weddings, and more drugs. Also, it’s neat seeing Meredith Hagner, who has been crushing it in Set It Up, Search Party, Palm Springs, and Ingrid Goes West, get a starring role alongside Cena, Howery and Orji.
Vacation Friends focuses on the relationship between two wildly different couples who meet in Mexico. The first couple we meet are Marcus (Howery and Emily (Orji), who are on vacation from Atlanta. They are wildly conservative as Marcus likes to plan everything, and is all about his spreadsheets that keep things organized. While on their cab ride to their five-star hotel, they see Ron (Cena) and Kyla (Hagner) taking massive bong rips while they navigate the ocean on a speeding jet ski (a fun way to learn the two couples are wildly different). When Marcus and Emily get to the hotel they learn their room has been flooded, and because the water came from Kyla and Ron’s room, they invite the couple to stay in their presidential suite that has extra rooms. Despite several red flags (Ron rims margarita glasses with cocaine), the couples hit it off and become a close-knit as they party the entire week. Things get dicey the last drug-fueled night when the couples have a makeshift wedding for Marcus and Emily, then jump off a cliff, and get a little too personal back at their room. As the vacation ends, the two couples go their own way, and “promise” to keep in touch (in a very awkward scene).
Seven months later, Marcus and Emily are about to get married, and are surprised when Ron and Kyla crash their wedding weekend by literally driving through a wall. It would be a shame to spoil more, just know that the rest of the movie features rigged golf games, magic mushrooms, and bird poop. There are moments at the wedding that will make you cringe beyond belief (in a good way), and that’s a testament to the direction and game performances by the central and supporting cast.
The cinematography by Tim Suhrstedt (Silicon Valley, Idiocracy) is never fancy, but it understands how to capture every joke, and the costume design by Salvador Pérez Jr. (Pitch Perfect) does a fine job of giving each character their own unique and memorable style. Also, the script by the five credited writers consistently finds ways to put a smile on your face with inspired gags, and Waffle House jokes that have a poignant payoff.
Final thoughts – Vacation Friends is worth a watch, and will put a smile on your face.
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John’s Horror Corner: Psycho Goreman (2020), a zany, gory, kinda cutesy horror-comedy about a bloodthirsty alien conqueror.
MY CALL: This movie has its “gore-slathered in chunky clumps of gross” moments. But I often felt the “kid stuff” and humor outweighed the violence and gore, perhaps mildly to its detriment. But it’s also pretty funny, rather hokey, very gory when it is gory, and kinda delightful. Few movies out there can deliver both levity and heavy gore together as smoothly as this. Recommended to fans of over-the-top gore or horror comedies. MORE MOVIES LIKE Psycho Goreman: For the super versus super aspect, The Guyver (1991), Swamp Thing (1982) and Zeiram (1991) spring to mind as solid double-feature pairings. For cutesy-funny wacktastic weird factor, go for Willy’s Wonderland (2021), Turbo Kid (2015), Manborg (2011) or Kung Fury (2015).
“After unearthing a gem that controls an evil monster looking to destroy the Universe, a young girl and her brother use it to make him do their bidding.” Yeah, if you’ve seen writer and director Steven Kostanski’s (Manborg, The Void, The ABCs of Death 2) other work, this premise should come as no surprise at all. LOL
The opening scenes introduce us to Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna; Books of Blood) and Luke (Owen Myre; Terrifier 2), two young competitive siblings who stumble across a buried intergalactic gemstone and sense a newfound fear of the existence of monsters. This may almost feel like a kids’ movie or a very family-friendly movie until we first encounter Psycho Goreman [PG] (voiced by Steven Vlahos) ripping off hobo heads from their blood-geysering necks with joy.
PG has a strangely familiar appearance to him, perhaps mixing The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with a Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) orc wearing fishy Aquaman (2018) armor. This alien overlord is very evil, loves to kill, and possesses powers of telekinesis. A well-rounded tyrant, for sure.
Mimi’s gem confers complete control over PG like a lamp holder to a genie. And as much as PG disapproves and threatens, he must do everything she commands, however silly her commands may be. But things get complicated when some supped-up “good” guys come to face this evil alien, and they came in Power Rangers-ish villain attire like some sort of Anime Battle Angels.
This movie has its “gore-slathered in chunky clumps of gross” moments. Many heads are separated from their bodies, faces are melted, and my personal highlight was when PG cartoonishly unhinged his jaws to tremendous size to swallow someone whole. That said, I wish there was more. Perhaps an issue of budget, but I often felt the “kid stuff” and humor outweighed the violence and gore.
Yeah, this movie is incredibly hokey. Yeah, the bad guys all look like R-rated villains from the 90s Power Rangers show. And yeah, it’s not quite as violent or consistently gory as I’d like most of the time. But it’s also pretty funny, very gory when it is gory, and kinda delightful. Few movies out there can deliver both levity and tendon-tearing on-screen decapitation. So whether you love over-the-top gore or horror comedies, you should enjoy this.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 60: The Deep Blue Sea Character Draft – Picking Our Favorite Characters From the Franchise
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Jay, Mark, Megan, and Nick Rehak (@TheRehak on Twitter) draft their favorite Deep Blue Sea franchise characters. In this episode, they discuss sleeveless shirts, Trader Slent’s, and their ultimate DBS character squads. After listening to the episode, let us know who put together the best crew. Enjoy!
Stay tuned for more Renny Harlin and shark movie coverage! Also, let’s hope there’s an annoucement about Deep Blue Sea 4 soon.
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An Ernest Scared Stupid Theory – Trantor the Troll Doomed Himself When He Placed a Curse on the Worrell Bloodline
“Hear me, Phineas Worrell. When the face of death covers the moon, one with your blood in his veins will release me, and victory will at last be mine!” Trantor the Troll
Legend has it that from that moment on, Phineas’ descendants would get dumber and dumber…and dumber – A local Briarville legend
If you enjoy this random Ernest Scared Stupid theory, make sure to listen to the podcast episode we recorded about the movie. You’ll love it, we explore Miak, and what it might be.
What I love about Ernest Scared Stupid is how the curse that Trantor the Troll places on the Worrell family helps explain everything that happens in the 10 film Ernest franchise. The reason Ernest is so “dumb” is because his relative Phineas P. Worrell caught and trapped a child killing troll. While burying the troll in its eternal grave, Trantor unleashes a curse on Phineas that helps explain why Ernest P. Worrell is who he is. Basically, the curse makes each generation of the Worrell family dumber. What’s interesting, is that while Ernest seems to have lost book smarts and the ability to be cynical, he is an inspired inventor who can build gigantic tree houses, create functional turtle parachutes, and is adept at driving any vehicle known to man (Including Santa’s sleigh). Thus, Trantor’s curse must have based on his definition of dumb, as Ernest was never able to finish high school, but, his knowledge of all things mechanical are unrivaled.
What Trantor didn’t expect was that the curse helps Ernest achieve some miraculous feats as his “child’s heart” helps him save Christmas, survive the electric chair, and fulfill a prophecy when his courage causes bullets to miss him. Also, as the curse predicted, Ernest does set Trantor free. However, Ernest is the only adult in town willing to battle Trantor, and this leads to Traitor’s demise. The things that can kill Trantor are the heart of a child, and a mother’s care. Initially, Milk (viva la Miak – David Cross took a guess as to what Miak is) could’ve done the trick. However after Trantor collects five children (horrifying), he’s able to raise his troll army and become Uber Trantor (think Jason X).
During the finale of Ernest Scared Stupid, Trantor has become too powerful for milk to stop him. Ernest learns that it’s love that can stop Trantor. So, he picks him up, dances with him, and plants a kiss on the troll. No sane human would do this, only the cursed Ernest and his “bottom of the gene pool” lineage would think of this. So, Trantor makes the Worrell lineage dumber, but he also creates someone with the heart of a child (and strength of an Ox) who can stop him. Take a look at this quote from the movie, you’ll see that someone “with the heart of a child” can stop Trantor
“From the innocence of five,
an evil army shall arise.
When blossoms shower down like rain,
my dark kingdom will come again.
There is one who can
stop me if he will dare,
with the heart of a child…
and a mother’s care.”
ERNEST TIMELINE (to prove the curse also helped Ernest P. Worrell do great things)
Long Ago – Briarville Missouri – In the beginning of Ernest Scared Stupid, Phinneas Worrell uses a child as bait to catch an evil troll that followed the settlers to the new world, and stole children so he could resurrect his army. The plan is successful, as they capture Trantor and bury him deep in the ground. Before Trantor the Troll can be buried, he says “When the face of death covers the moon, one with your blood in his veins will release me.” Trantor also curses the Worrell lineage to become “dumber, and dumber and dumber.”
Here’s a note about Phineas P. Worrell from the Fandom page – “Reverend Phineas Worrell – A distant English-born ancestor of Ernest in “Ernest Scared Stupid“. He helped banish a troll named Trantor, who Ernest accidentally released several generations later. Phineas was unique among the known Worrell family in that he appeared to have a relatively serious disposition and appeared to be quite intelligent for the brief moment that he was shown. However, as Trantor was being banished, the troll placed a curse on the Worrell family that would make members of the family considerably less intelligent with each successive generation, ultimately culminating in a member of the family that would release Trantor.”
1949 – Ernest P. Worrell is born. We don’t know about his parents. In Ernest Scared Stupid he says he didn’t know his father well (and that he didn’t have forefathers).
1959 – Fourth Grade – His teacher says “He never knew when to quit.” This is when we learn about his tenacity. Somehow the curse has made him very determined, when you watch the movies, you’ll notice that the dude always keeps going.
1987 – Ernest Goes to Camp – Ernest understands sign language, builds a makeshift catapult and makes functional parachutes for turtles. Most importantly, He passes an initiation ritual when his courage alters the course of three bullets to prevent them from striking him. Since the magic of Trantors curse is placed upon him, it’s possible that it protected him from the bullets.
1988 – Ernest Saves Christmas – Ernest helps Santa escape from jail (he believes he is Santa), and successfully steers Santa’s sleigh. He’s the only person who believes Santa is Santa. Dude saves Christmas. He also helps a runaway teenager get back on track.
1990 – Ernest Goes to Jail – Ernest survives the electric chair and foils a bank robbery. This is where the curse comes in handy. Trantor needs a dumb Worrell relative to release him. It’s possible the magic kept Ernest alive when it would’ve killed any other person on the planet. He also becomes magnetic, and gains the ability to fly for a short period of time. The magic is real.
1991 – Ernest Scared Stupid – In the beginning of the film, Ernest is trapped inside of his garbage truck, and is compacted inside a massive square heap of garbage, the hunk of trash falls out of the garbage truck and we see Ernest landing face first. He suffers zero injuries (the curse really has made him powerful). Then, after he lets Trantor out, he’s the only person who can stop him.
Here’s a quote from Old Lady Hackmore:
“You are the only troll fighter we’ve got. You’re the seventh son of the seventh son. You’re the baby. You’re the boy. You are the great redneck hope.”
This leads to Ernest finally figuring out how to defeat Trantor. Think about it, only a maniac would pick up a demonic troll and kiss it on the lips in a true showing of love. What’s great is the curse that Trantor unleashes proves to be his undoing
It’s great storytelling that makes the entire franchise make sense.
Also, The magic must’ve stayed with him as the followup films feature some gnarly happenings as well.
Ernest Rides Again – His body is so powerful it prevents nails from entering his head
Ernest Slam Dunk – He is given magical shoes
Ernest Goes to School – He receives a serum that makes him super smart.
There you have it! Trantor doomed himself when he cursed the Worrells. Thank you for reading!
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) – Review: A Top-Tier Marvel Cinematic Universe Film That is a Blast to Watch
Quick Thoughts: Grade – B+ – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a blast. It’s nice watching something that doesn’t have the weight of every MCU storyline on its shoulders. If you’re looking for a fun origin story featuring solid action scenes, likable characters, and adorable creatures, it doesn’t get much better
Directed and written by Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Short Term 12), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings is a breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it doesn’t have the weight of 20+ films on its shoulders, and it can explore different worlds that get us away from world destroying titans. Also, it’s cool seeing Tony Leung (Hard Boiled, In the Mood for Love, Hero), and Michelle Yeoh (Supercop, Tomorrow Never Lies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) in the MCU, and they’re given juicy roles that allow them to showcase their acting and action chops. Most importantly, Simu Lu and Awkwafina are wonderful as Shang-Chi and Katy, two karaoke loving best friends who find themselves traveling around the world (and never taking themselves too seriously) after being attacked by mercenaries in San Francisco.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings starts off by showing us how Wenwu (Leung), found the ten rings, and achieved power through centuries of war, murder and more murder. As the centuries progress, so does Wenwu’s wealth, as he hires out his trained mercenaries to kill world leaders and cause governments to collapse. During his quest to accumulate more power, he ends up coming across Jiang-Li (Fala Chen), the only person who can match his fighting skills. After an inspired fight scene, the two fall in love, have two children Shang-Chi (Lu), and Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), and settle down for a pleasant domestic life. Since it’s a movie involving a retired ganglord, trouble comes to find the family, and Jiang-Li is killed, which pushes Wenwu back to his life of terrorism (and makes him a slightly more sympathetic villain as he tried to live a normal life). From there, things go sideways for the family, and they disperse around the world, and meet up once again when Wenwu recruits them back into action.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is easily one of the most fun MCU films as it always makes sure to provide quality gags interspersed within the creative action scenes featuring bus chases, scaffolding brawls, and gladiator-esque battles. The bus brawl might be one of the most fun moments in recent MCU memory, as it gives us a glimpse of the fighting skills of Shang-Chi, and gives Katy a moment to shine as she drives an out of control bus through the streets of San Francisco. The scene features some cheeky humor, inspired choreography that drives the scene, and a solid villain named Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu), who has a giant blade attached to his arm (he also has a cool car).
The cinematography by Bill Pope (Darkman, The Matrix, Baby Driver) keeps the action in the camera, and it’s nice not watching jerkily shot action scenes that are edited into oblivion. Things do go CGI-heavy towards the end, but the likable characters, and new villain keep it intriguing. Also, the costume design by Kym Barrett (The Matrix, Romeo + Juliet, Speed Racer) is solid, as each character gets a chance to look great while they engage in the fights which were choreographed by Guillermo Grispo (Solo, The King’s Man) and Andy Cheng (Into the Badlands, 6 Underground).
It would be great to see Shang-Chi tear it up at the box office, as it’s the first Marvel Studios film with an Asian director and a predominantly Asian cast. Based on the initial reaction of most critics, the film will have a very Fresh Tomatometer score, which will hopefully get people into theaters, who will then promote the movie to their friends. Shang-Chi is a blast, and while it doesn’t hit the heights of Iron Man or Black Panther, it belongs in the conversation of being one of the best standalone MCU movies.
Final Thoughts – Go watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Movies, Films & Flix 