Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – The English-language remake of the 2014 French ilm La Famille Bélier, is loaded with excellent performances, likable characters, and a lot of heart. It will put a smile on your face, and hopefully it will be remembered when awards season rolls around.
While it would’ve been nice to see CODA getting a wide theatrical release, knowing that Apple paid $25 million for the distribution rights after it premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, is good enough. The Siân Heder (GLOW, Orange is the New Black) directed/written film totally deserves its 95% Tomatometer Score, and hopefully it isn’t buried due to the Apple+ release (like On the Rocks). After watching the various Sundance interviews and reading up about the film, it’s clear that a lot of love went into the creation of it, and that the cast loved being on screen together as the chemistry is solid.
CODA (AKA child of deaf adults) focuses on the exploits of Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones = excellent), a senior in high school who is the only hearing member of her family composed of her parents Frank (Troy Katsur) Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and her brother Leo (Daniel Durant). She spends her mornings fishing with her dad and brother, aboard their commercial fishing boat, then she heads to her high school where she’s occasionally too busy to change and is made fun of for smelling like fish. Problems arise when she decides to join the school choir, and her talents are noticed by teacher Eugenio Derbez (Bernardo Villalobos – he’s so good), who invites her to take private lessons in the evenings and weekends, in hopes of her being accepted into nearby Berklee University. The problem is she’s the full-time translator for her family, as she’s needed at the boat to make sure someone is at the radio, and doctor appointments where she’s forced to hear about her parents sex lives, and it’s consequences (it’s a fun scene).
It’s a wild amount of stress for the teenager, and to make things worse, she also has to sing a duet with her crush Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo – SING STREET! Watch it now), and be there for her family as they attempt to start their own business selling fish. Despite all the stressful situations, CODA is brimming with life and authenticity as we’re taken into a world the majority of the populace has never been. Watching the everyday interactions of the Rossi family as they struggle to pay bills, deal with local bullies, and struggle to cope with only one member being able to hear, is a lot of fun, because, sadly, it’s never really been shown as authentically before. Also, Heder grew up in Massachusetts, and she’s able to create a believable atmosphere that feels lived-in and genuine. The producers trusted Heder to create something different from the original film, and she succeeded by casting Matlin, Katsur and Durant, who are all excellent, and hopefully like Matlin, will have a chance to win an Academy Award.
What’s really cool is that Jones spent nine months learning American Sign Language, and she also started taking vocal training to prepare for her singing heavy role. It’s wild that she never really took singing lessons before, which just proves how talented she is (her singing is legit). Also, bringing in Academy Award winning actress Matlin proved to be a wise decision, as she fought for the rest of the cast to be deaf actors, which was wise because the film benefits by having Katsur and Durant, who are excellent and add a level of authenticity to their roles.
Final thoughts: Watch CODA today. It’s authentic, loaded with heart, and worth a watch
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 381 – Deep Rising, Sea Monsters, and Dangerous Shoes
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Jay (of Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast) discuss the 1998 cult classic Deep Rising. Directed by Stephen Sommers, and starring Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Kevin J. O’Connor, and Wes Studi, the movie focuses on what happens when a group of mercanaries battle an ancient sea beast aboard a luxury ocean liner. In this episode, they discuss lunkhead henchmen, shoe attacks, and why this movie deserves a large audience. Enjoy!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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What…If? (2021) – First Three Episodes Review – A Fun New Marvel Show With Lots of Potential
Quick Thoughts – The first three episodes of What If…? prove the show is a fun experiment that opens up the MCU world to different storylines.
After watching the first three episodes of What If…? I’m definitely excited to see more because I love what Marvel is doing with the show, and how they’re handling the aftermath of the Loki finale that opened up a world of timelines. There is a freedom to the episodes, as creator A.C. Bradley is able to tell thousands of the different stories that feature characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s also cool that many of the actors do the voicework, which makes everything seem more official and part of the canon. It helps the Marvel boss Kevin Feige is onboard making sure the actors, creators, and animators get as much support as possible to make this an A+ product. Here’s how creator A.C Bradley breaks down the series.
“When it came to creating these episodes and which characters we wanted to make sure we gave them diversity. I was not allowed to do just 10 episodes of Tony Stark, although I could’ve. It was kind of making sure we represent as many of the first three phases of Marvel as humanly possible and giving room for cameos while bringing back as many of the actors. The only other mandate was, “Don’t do what’s in the movies,” and “Have as much fun.” Show Marvel and show the fandom how big and vast and weird the multiverse can get.”
The first episode focuses on what would happen if Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) took the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s a lot of fun to watch Carter battle Hydra, and see what happens when a woman takes a super serum that was meant for a man. You can tell that Bradley has an affinity for her as she’s said “She’s (Carter) the woman who was not supposed to be in the room. She’s the woman who is supposed to be on the sidelines, pining for Steve Rogers. And we’re like, “No. We’re gonna show a woman who knows her worth, and sees how that changes the world.” It’s a neat idea, and there is a welcome dose of wish fulfillment in seeing Carter take the hero role and get her time to shine as a superhero.
It would be a shame to spoil the other episodes (the trailers have already shown way too much), just know that they involve surprise cameos, a decent amount of destruction, and some really cool moments that tweak and change what we’ve seen so far in the MCU. When you think about it, it’s a brilliant idea because everything can be canon because they exist in the multiverse. This idea gives the episodes more importance because they aren’t unofficial “what if” scenarios that feel like fan fiction, they are official MCU approved stories that utilize the voicework of most of the actors.
To top everything off, the animation by Stephan Franck is excellent, as he drew inspiration from Lady and Tramp (1955), Norman Rockwell, and Tom Lovell to create a look that is “kind of heroic, hyper-realized, super-idealized look that feels iconic” while not being “pushed or cartoony.” Also, they went out of their way to make the 3D animation look like 2D animation, and the end result is unique and somewhat old school.
Final thoughts: The first three episodes of What…If? are a lot of fun, and it will be neat to see where this series goes (a second season is already confirmed!). Let’s hope Luis (Michael Pena) gets his own Ant-Man spinoff episode!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 380: Underworld: Evolution, Cans of Paint, and Kate Beckinsale
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and David Cross (of the Award Wieners Movie Review Podcast) discuss the 2006 film Underworld: Evolution. Directed by Len Wiseman, and starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, and several cans of paint, the movie focuses on the continuing war between vampires and werewolves that was introduced in the 2003 film Underworld (listen to the episode!). In this episode, they discuss nonstop action, storage containers, and the excellence of Kate Beckinsale. Enjoy!
Make sure to follow David on Instagram (Award Wieners Podcast) and Twitter (@ItsMeDavidCross)
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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The Suicide Squad (2021) – Review: A Funny, Endearing, and Violent Superhero Movie That Will Put a Smile On Your Face
Quick Thoughts: Grade – A – The James Gunn directed The Suicide Squad is pure delight. If you are looking for a bloody, brutal and hilarious superhero movie, it doesn’t get any better.
The great thing about The Suicide Squad is that there will never be a “James Gunn Cut.” You can tell it’s almost exactly what Gunn wanted to make, and he had zero worries about cutting anything down to a PG-13. He got all the songs he wanted, the movie starts with Michael Rooker killing a bird, and it features a man-sized weasel belly flopping into the ocean. The Suicide Squad is pure R-rated well-managed insanity that delivers a healthy dose of shock and heart.
What’s great about The Suicide Squad is how Michael Rooker’s character Savant is quickly recruited by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis – hilariously tired) to join a makeshift Suicide Squad that will be running a secret mission in the small South American island Corto Maltese. Savant is teamed up with Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman – very good), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie – also very good), Weasel (Sean Gunn), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and the returning Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). Their mission quickly goes south, and they find themselves battling the entire Corto Maltsian military while another group of Suicide Squaders wade peacefully onto the shores further up the island.
This is where the movie splits into two narratives as Harley is captured and forced to meet with Presidente General Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto), who has an interest in Harley and will soon find himself out of his league. The other narrative focuses on new characters Bloodsport (Idris Elba – so good), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior – the MVP of the movie), Polka-Dot Man (David Mastmalchian), and King Shark (voice by Sylvester Stallone) sneaking onto the island so they can capture a scientist named Thinker (Peter Capaldi), and enter a secret laboratory that is home to a wonderfully weird alien. It would be a shame to spoil any of the wild delights that Gunn has in store, just know that there are adorable rats, soldiers ripped in half, and some brutal fights.
The film is a massive improvement over David Ayer’s 2016 movie Suicide Squad because the characters are allowed to have fun, and the narrative isn’t splintered due to reshoots and studio interference. The highlights include Daniela Melchior who finds heart and humor in her rat-controlling character Ratcatcher 2, and Idris Elba who is cranky, funny, insecure, deadly and not afraid to look silly on screen. It’s also cool seeing Margot Robbie thrive as Harley Quinn. She gets some of the best moments in the movie (she kills a lot of people – it’s neat), and I’d love to see her work with James Gunn again as they seem to have an understanding of Harley Quinn and her motivations. Another impressive aspect about the movie is how the finale stays relatively grounded, despite featuring a large CGI kaiju knocking over buildings like they are dominos. You know where all of the characters are, and they all play an important role in battling a large alien who is justifiably pissed off at being imprisoned for 30+ years.
The Suicide Squad is so good because it’s weird, violent, bloody and very endearing. It’s hard to think of the last time I liked the characters so much in a superhero film (Ant-Man and the Wasp might be the last film I loved), and it will be fun to rewatch, so I can discover more Easter eggs and jokes that were missed the first time around.
Final thoughts: I can’t think of the last time a comic book movie made me so happy.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 57: Doing the Double, Shark Explosions, and Extra Large Fries
You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!
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Jay and Mark are joined by Heather Baxendale-Walsh (@Heather_Kenobi on Twitter) to discuss the ninth chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss sharks in vending machines, extra large fries, and blood explosions. Enjoy!
Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.
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Free Guy (2021) – Review: An Entertaining Summer Blockbuster That Introduces Audiences to a Great Guy
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Free Guy is an absolute delight, and if you’re looking for a fun summer blockbuster to watch, you can’t go wrong with Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, and They Live references.
The Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Night at the Museum, Real Steel) directed Free Guy is a welcome breath of fresh air as it’s not a sequel, remake, reboot or adaptation. The majority of the trailers have focused on the “newness” of it all, and that can’t be argued as Free Guy has the audacity to tell a new story (while still sneaking in They Live, Her, The Truman Show, and Ready Player One references) and be occasionally weird enough to let Taika Waitit go full-ham on his dialogue The PG-13 film written by Zak Penn (Ready Player One, The Avengers) and Matt Lieberman (The Christmas Chronicles) is loaded with fun action scenes, cool chases, and zero jet ski action scenes (I really was hoping for one), and it manages to sneak in welcome doses of snark and heart.
The film revolves around a guy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who enjoys hot coffee, blue shirts, Mariah Carey, and chatting with his best friend Buddy (lil Rey Howery) while the bank they work at is robbed every single day. Guy is a non-playable character (NPC) inside the video game Free City, which allows players to murder innocents, rob banks, and cruise around the open world doing whatever they want so they can build their scores. On a fateful day, Guy becomes self-aware when he meets Molotov Girl/Mille (Jodie Comer), a gaming legend who catches his attention because she sings Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” and doesn’t try to murder or rob him. From there, Guy starts leveling up in the game by doing good deeds, and his celebrity grows as the gaming community latches onto his kind antics, and wants to know his gaming identity. This draws the attention of Antoine (Taika Waititi – wonderful), the owner of the video game company, who doesn’t like the direction Guy is taking gamers.
Throw in Joe Keery’s character Keys, who works with Antoine, and developed the Free City code with Millie (which Antoine stole), and you have multiple subplots that all tie together nicely. It’s neat watching Guy level up with kindness, and assisting Millie in her attempt to find the proof that Antoine stole from her and Keys. The idea of the constantly murdered NPC characters uniting together to stop brutal gamers is wonderful, and it would be a shame to spoil anything else (the trailers have already done this, but I won’t).
Another bonus of Free Guy is that it features a totally earnest performance from Reynolds. It’s a welcome departure from his hugely successful Deadpool-shtick (which is very fun), and it’s neat watching Guy develop and learn as he progresses through the film (look out for the cappuccino moment). Also, the costume and production design by Marlene Stewart and Ethan Tobman prove to be super memorable, and there’s no doubt that many people will be cosplaying as Guy in the future, as his blue button up shirt (and henley) will be instantly recognizable. The sets all look great too, and there are a few large builds that look super cool and do a fine job of selling the video game world.
Final thoughts – Free Guy is a lot of fun, and I hope it does well with audiences and critics. The world needs more original films like it.
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MY CALL: This film is a cult classic that plays out well and even yields an earned and satisfying ending. Even though the comedy is overt, it is very dark. I enjoy it still. MORE MOVIES LIKE Cemetery Man: For more horror love stories, try The Bride (1985), Meridian (1990), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993), Let the Right One In (2008), Crimson Peak (2015) or The Shape of Water (2017).
With a brand of humor most closely resembling a toned-down Evil Dead 2 (1987) or Dead-Alive (1992), we open this dark horror comedy as Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) somewhat humorously executes a man who has risen from his grave in the neighboring cemetery. Well before The Walking Dead (2010-2021) coined such terms as walkers, biters, geeks and the like, Francesco referred to his risers from the grave as “returners,” and that’s what they did exactly seven days after their burial in his cemetery. Francesco is charged with keeping them in their resting place… so… killing them again.
Like Romero’s zombie folklore, these undead are dispatched by significant head trauma and Francesco wonders if this isn’t the beginning of an epidemic reaching far beyond the gates of his graveyard. But when a beautiful young woman (Anna Falchi) grieving for her lost husband falls for Francesco, succumbs to a zombie bite and dies, Francesco’s life takes a yet stranger turn.
The zombie effects are quite passable, and the gore is impressive when it’s called upon. I was overjoyed when a school bus of kids rose as zombies to have huge gaping holes blown in their heads. Huge gaping headwounds and massive injuries abound in this film.
The comedy is overt even if very dark. Francesco’s assistant Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro; Brotherhood of the Wolf) removes the head of a cadaver and forms a relationship with it. The sex scene nudity was rather extensive and provided a long one-scene callback to Mathilda May strutting around in the buff in Lifeforce (1985).
Director Michele Soavi (The Sect, The Church) somehow never moved on to do much more. Not sure why. This film is a cult classic that plays out well and even yields an earned and satisfying ending! I enjoy it still.
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Pig (2021) – Review: A Beautiful Film That Features Another Inspired Performance From Nicolas Cage
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Pig is a beautiful film that will definitely be included in my year end “best of” lists. I can’t think of the last time I was so engrossed in a movie. Also, Nicolas Cage is excellent, and between Pig, Joe, Mandy, and Color Out of Space, he’s been putting in some great work in movies that place him in a wooded area.
The best thing about Pig is that you have no clue where it’s going. The trailer with it’s classical music, and eerie score makes you believe that it’s a thriller/psychological drama about a man trying to find the truffle pig that was stolen from him. To a certain extent, that’s true, but the lurid editing (I don’t blame the marketers, they had to sell it) hides how truly soulful it is. If you are looking for a contemplative, thoughtful and beautifully shot experience, I totally recommend you rent (or buy) Pig. If you can, turn off the lights, and enjoy the 92-minute film that features excellent work from Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Arkin.
Directed by Michael Sarnoski, Pig tells the story of Rob (Nicolas Cage), a truffle hunter heading to Portland in hopes of finding his pig that was stolen from him by two opportunistic thieves. The thieves were hired by a Portland bigwig, who heard about the pigs mythical ability to hunt down truffles that are sold to the Pacific northwest elite in haughty restaurants that deconstruct pretty much anything. Joining Rob in his journey, is his buyer Amir (Alex Wolff), who drives him to the big city after Rob is attacked and left bloody in his isolated shack (he never cleans himself up, and it’s great). From there, the two find themselves exploring the seedy side of Portland, and it would be a shame to tell you more. Why? Pig is a movie that you should know very little about, because it will take you to places you’d never expect.
The cinematography by Patrck Scola (who has shot music videos for The Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Alt-J and The Neighbourhood) is beautiful to look at, as it uses doorframe, trees, and Nic Cage’s face to wonderful results. It would be disappointing to not see Scola nominated for any awards because his work is constantly inventive, and the use of focus and depth of field is inspired. Also, the script by Sarnoski and Vanessa Block keeps you engaged as it takes you from the isolated woods to an urban landscape that feels almost as dangerous and foreign as the Oregon woods. It’s also nice that the movie doesn’t go the Taken or John Wick route, as violence is mostly avoided, and aside from a couple beatdowns, the film mostly relies on tense dialogue scenes that are far more suspenseful than people punching each other in their faces.
After Color Out of Space, Mandy, Willy’s Wonderland, Mom and Dad, and Now Pig, Nicolas Cage has been turning in excellent performances in solid movies that have been missed by the mainstream (Watch Mandy now!). The narrative may be that he is stuck in direct-to-DVD purgatory, but that can’t be further from the truth. His work is interesting, unique, and in the case of Willy’s Wonderland, mostly silent. Mandy might be one of the best horror films of the 21st century, and a big reason for that is Cage’s performance, as he’s asked to be an ultimate badass who endures worlds of hurt, suffering, and pain at the hands of supernatural gross people, and cult members who have no clue who they are up against. If you get a chance, check out one of these films, they are well worth your time.
Final Thoughts – Watch Pig. Do it now.
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Quick Thoughts: – Grade – D – Great White is an underwhelming shark film that doesn’t have any bite. The characters aren’t likable enough to carry the film, and the occasionally beautiful cinematography can’t carry the action scenes that rely on contrived moments to create tension.
Directed by Martin Wilson (famed commercial director who made his feature film debut with Great White) and starring Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, and Kimie Tsukakoshi, Great White is a shark movie that takes itself too seriously, and let’s itself down when it moves inside a soundstage for the night scenes. The idea is sound, as placing several people (who are either pregnant, wildly jealous, or afraid of sharks after an attack) in a life raft and having them be harassed by sharks is always fun, but the movie falls apart when it isn’t showing us beautiful overhead footage of the Australian Coast.
The worst part about Great White is that you feel horribly for the great whites. In the best shark films like Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and The Shallows, the sharks are comically evil, genetically modified, or oddly vindictive, and they are treated like horror movie villains, and not like actual great whites (who are beautiful creatures). Great White keeps things grounded, which means when the sharks eventually die, you feel bad for them because they were just doing their thing, and they end up getting killed. Also, since the characters are thinly drawn, and only two of them come across as actual humans (Bowden and Jakubenko are solid), the kills don’t mean anything because there is no connection to them. For instance, Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka), a likable character, dies when Joji (Tim Kano – stuck with a wildly underwritten character) who is annoyed that Benny is assisting his wife Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi), pushes him into the water, and before Benny can make it back to the raft, he is killed. So, essentially, Joji is a murderer, who probably should go to jail if he survives the ensuing attacks. It’s unnecessary moments like this that do nothing for the film, and start making you consider laws about shoving people into water and causing them to be eaten by a shark.
If you’ve been following MFF for a while, you know that I love pretty much every shark movie ever made (We started Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast). I bought Great White without ever seeing a trailer, and I regret buying it because it does nothing for the genre, as the obviously fake soundstage work (which was necessary for the budget), wonky lighting, occasionally bad VFX, and lack of memorable characters make it hard to enjoy. I really wanted to love Great White, and if I didn’t, I was fully prepared to defend it by saying “A bad shark movie is better than most other movies.” However, Great White is a middling film that does nothing to warrant a cult audience, or “so bad, it’s good” consideration.
Final thoughts – Great White is a subpar shark film that should only be watched by shark movie completists.
Movies, Films & Flix 