Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

As a sequel to the 1995 Jumanji, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle takes us back to the Jumanji world with a quartet of teenagers and a few modern updates.

The most surprising thing about Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is that although it bears the title of Jumanji, it aspires to be more than a vehicle for nostalgia. In Welcome to the Jungle, the board game becomes a video game console. The changed concept allows the film to toy with the mechanics of video games which gives the proceedings an inventive touch. The body swap trope offers plenty of opportunities for the actors to flex their comedic muscles.

That being said, both the teenage protagonists and their older in-game counterparts are as stereotypical as they come. It’s a blast to watch them throw jabs at one another in millennial vernacular and the novelty effects of the video game element is enough to amuse you for a while. But apart from that, the story has no real suspense and tension. The jungle they are trapped in only serves the function of providing transitions or backdrop for each set piece. The film is built around attempts to satirises many clichés in action movies, yet, their self-awareness is nowhere to be found when they put Karen Gillan in a skimpy outfit and make her do a seductive dance.

It may not be a classic like the original, but Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle is exactly the quirky, family fun-fair (with a slight hint of sexism) that you would expect.

(Originally posted on 29 Dec 2017 @projectunwrapped)

The Greatest Showman

Though it’s based on a true story, The Greatest Showman is in no way a faithful and realistic account of P.T. Barnum’s life. In this glossy crowd-pleaser starring Hugh Jackman, all unsavoury details are substituted by a sanitized, family-friendly version of Barnum’s success story.

The Director, Michael Gracey, comes from a background in commercials and visual effects and it clearly shows in his feature film debut here. The film races through the lightweight plot and only stops for one extravagant song-and-dance number after another. The technology certainly makes the film a charming spectacle, but, on the flip side, the overt CGI and autotune might also strike some as artificial. The film touches on a number of socially relevant issues but avoids going deeper than a few longing looks or blaring musical numbers to maintain its family appeal.

Nonetheless, the film is backed by a relentlessly earnest cast who is deeply committed to entertain you. The Greatest Showman is Hugh Jackman’s showcase from beginning to end. He truly embodies the showmanship qualities that elevate the simplistic storyline. The forbidden romance between Zendaya’s Anne and Zac Efron’s Phillip provides the film with some of the best emotional moments.

The point is, there is no need to overthink this. The Greatest Showman is delightfully sugar-coated for this specific time of the year.
(Originally posted on 29 Dec 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Justice League

It’s been more than a month since Justice League was released in theatres. Countless write-ups have been constructed and deconstructed in every imaginable way. Criticisms on the film have been worded and presented more eloquently than I possibly could. I’m not sure how much I, or anyone, can add anything more of value to the discourse on this film.

As one of the many steps of course correction for the DCEU, Justice League basically recycles the same story beats as the Whedon’s Avengers films, with even more poorly rendered CGI plastered all over the film. The shoehorned one-liners and jokes that so obviously have Whedon’s fingerprints on it are definitely in competition for some of the worst dialogue in comic book film history. (It’s astonishing how Joss Whedon still doesn’t get the memo from 2015 that his boob faceplants joke did not work in Age of Ultron and it certainly does not work now.)

The most valuable thing DC and Warner Bros. can take from Justice League is that there are consequences to their reckless treatment of the DCEU brand. In their attempt of course correction, they are morphing themselves into the same weaknesses of its competitors. The overt tonal shift to address criticisms of the DCEU films being “too dark” should be one of their smallest concerns. The successes of Marvel’s Thor and Fox’s Logan within the same year proved that there is room for both more comedic and darker superhero films to thrive. Instead of chasing a certain style or tone, it is crucial to find creators that match the properties in terms of sensibilities. It is because of this recklessness that the get-together of the most iconic superhero team ended up as nothing more than an afterthought, a far cry from the crowning success that the studios expected.

As for the film itself, all I can say is that Justice League is not the best it could have been. But, does it deserve the venom that has been spit at it? Honestly, the comic book genre has seen worse.

(Originally posted on 24 Dec 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Daring, subversive, and surprisingly self-reflective, The Last Jedi is an ambitious and melancholic game-changer, setting the franchise on the course of a new era.

Predictably, The Last Jedi is scorched by its very passionate and opinionated fanbase. Polarity, the cost of changing the direction of a beloved franchise, is almost unavoidable. In the age of social media, the battle lines between fans and critics, nostalgia and change, acclaim and blame, are instantaneously drawn.

Perhaps the takeaway message is that it’s how you choose to face failures that count. The Last Jedi forces us, along with the heroes and villains, to confront the detrimental side of hero worship, the burden of legacy and how one moment of poor judgment can trigger a plethora of terrible consequences. All these failures and mistakes seem to serve no sense of purpose other than putting the heroes in an even more dire situation.

In the grand scheme of things, whether Johnson’s risks will find their place in the Star Wars lore remains to be seen. To be quite honest, I’m still having a hard time wrestling with all these new information to truly make up my own mind. After a little more than a week, the labyrinthine feelings of grief, anger, denial, confusion are still clashing with one another in my mind.

Saying goodbye is tough, letting go is a difficult lesson to learn. Whether it’s losing a loved one or facing disappointment, it’s all a part of the growing pains. Star Wars is not perfect, its heroes are not perfect, this film is not perfect but that’s okay. And while it seems that there is nothing more comforting than the homely embrace of nostalgia, accepting the present is just as important as accepting the past. Our heroes are growing and so must we.

And rest assured, no one is ever truly gone.

(Originally posted on 23 Dec 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Battle of the Sexes

“That must have crushed you.”
“No. I just thought, that does it. I’m going to be the best. That way I can really change things. That way I have a voice”
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An entire system dictated what women can and cannot be for the longest time, one woman stood up and said “no”, and 90 million people witnessed how she changed the world.
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She sees injustice, she experiences inequality so she changes it for the better.
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There’s a lot to fall on Billie Jean King’s shoulders in the eponymous Battle of the Sexes. By taking on the self-avowed chauvinist Riggs, not only is King putting her professional credibility on the line, she’s also bringing her personal baggage to the court as she’s coming to terms with her homosexuality.
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As the top female tennis player in the world, King realizes she has one of the rare, powerful voices to persuade people that women deserve the same respect as men. She takes it upon herself to secure better opportunities for herself and her female peers by taking on an entire system of persistent oppression imposed on women, a system designed to deprive women of what they deserve and desire. She sees it as her inescapable responsibility to take on Riggs, despite risking the death her own career, in order to keep the greater cause alive.
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Flash forward to 2017, women in many places are still living at the mercy of patriarchy. Women around the world are united by a sense of frustration that we still have to justify our desires by constantly proving our worth to men and even have to live in fear that our rights will be revoked, proving that King’s battle is still depressingly timely years later. Maybe films like Battle of the Sexes, films that buoyantly celebrate the great triumphs of women, is exactly what we need right now. King’s battle did not put a definite end to the imbalance deeply lodged in our culture but it’s still important to remember and celebrate these victories along the way that lead us to where we are today. It is on the shoulders of individuals like Billie Jean King that we stand on to lift each other up until we are all on the same level playing field.
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“Times change. You should know. You just changed them.”

(Originally posted on 8 Nov 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Thor: Ragnarok

Look, I believe in trial and error.

It’s no secret that Marvel has always struggled with the Thor franchise. The studio’s convenient answer to that problem seems to be: when in doubt, turn it into a joke.

With comedy, timing is everything. What makes Marvel’s brand of humour work for the Guardians or even Spiderman:Homecoming is the balance between the drama and the comedy. Ragnarok, on the other hand, is so self-indulgent in its hilarity that it ends up hurting the story. With promises of universe-shattering events, there is a surprising lack of weight and momentum. Scenes are rolling by without any sense of emotional depth and importance.

The detrimental effect of retconning an entire franchise is that Ragnarok is robbed of any semblance of sincere emotions. The striking dissonance across the films only highlights the franchise’s awkward presence among its peers. How are we supposed to look back to the previous Thor films in retrospect? Or is Marvel just flat out telling us that none of this matter after its 2 minutes in the spotlight is up?

We are 17 films into this cinematic universe. Walking out of the theatre, I can’t help but ask: what difference does this make? Ragnarok marks the first year that the studio has released 3 films in the same year, and it’s never more apparent than right now that the studio is in a creative rut. My main frustration comes from Marvel’s refusal to learn from their mistakes, repackaging the same monotony without realising that their formula desperately needs a shift. It’s not that this formula is entirely bad. Sometimes they are able to churn out a film like Ant-Man that is surprisingly heartwarming despite its formulaic structure, but more often than not they are just inconsequential placeholders like Doctor Strange. It’s Marvel’s risk-averse approach that is truly holding back the potential of their properties, not even an auteur director like Taika Waititi could do much about it. It might be better on Marvel’s part to stop lying to themselves that this is in any way a departure from their repertoire.

But who am I kidding, my fingers are still crossed for Black Panther. Please let it be good.

(Originally posted on 1 Nov 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Wind River

Surrounded by expansive snowy landscape, Taylor Sheridan makes great use of the environment as a springboard for the narrative and visual poeticism in Wind River. Performances from Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen paint the film with emotional streaks that provide a humanistic angle to the stark violence in the story.

Wind River, is said to be the thematic conclusion of Sheridan’s trilogy of neo-western films, exploring the problems arising in modern American frontier. But, Sheridan’s obsession with the stoic, white masculine masochism is especially ill-fitted here.

Wind River draws our attention to the horrific violence and injustice faced by Native American women in real life but, really, this is not their story. The pre-ending titles remind the audience of the erasure of Native American Women but, ironically, the film itself is also engaging in a different form of erasure of Native Americans. There is really no reason why Renner’s character has to be white. This reliance on the “white man saves the day” narrative, in which the pain of Native American women is used as a backdrop so that the white man can come in and lecture Native Americans about pain and survival, is dangerously irresponsible. At the end of the day, it is still the white man who gets to determine the fate of the predator and achieves his definition of justice. Meanwhile, Native Americans are sidelined, deprived of their own voice, as if the white man is the only person who knows about loss, pain and survival. Considering the divide between white and Native Americans, the film’s solution of the very real issues that endanger the livelihood and well-being of Native American women is simply naive.

In fact, the film is so fixated on white male heroism that even Olsen’s FBI character plays second fiddle to Renner’s character, with her insisting that she doesn’t know anything and needs his help. While she is able to display moments of heroism on her own, it is cut short so that the male hero can “go get him” and come back to patronise her further.

(Originally posted on 21 Oct 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Colossal

Abuse almost never starts as abuse.

Rescue fantasy is a common rom-com trope in which the troubled female protagonist needs to be saved and rectified in one way or another by a “Nice Guy”. Colossal deconstructs the “Nice Guy” trope that is often falsely romanticized in the media, proving that the “Nice Guy” is just as capable of abusive behaviour as the physically abusive men they would unhesitatingly condemn. When in truth, the only difference between those who physically abuse and mentally abuse others is their weapons of choice. To those who have suffered abuse, Oscar’s explosive tantrums in the film would not be unfamiliar, and the sweeping gifts that follow are in actuality a license for the perpetrators to inflict more pain on their victims guilt-free. The truth of the matter is physical abuse and emotional abuse are just as vicious as the other. Though, emotional abuse has a cleverer way of disguising itself. The “Nice Guy”’s volatile self is veiled by a thin layer of duplicitous kindness. And in the eyes of the perpetrators, by accepting their gestures of kindness, they are automatically entitled to your affections. Their display of kindness is an attempt to make sure that you play the game by their rules and to keep you at their heels.

Colossal cleverly connects the monsters to the characters’ inner havoc. Hathaway’s Gloria might be flawed but she is a heroine you can root for nonetheless. She realizes that her self-destructive behaviour affects the lives around her and actively seeks way to make amends for her mistakes. On the other hand, we have Oscar who is emasculated by his own circumstances. He first gains control over Gloria’s livelihood by circling her daily life. He then sees his connection to the monster as an opportunity to assert his dominance. He abuses that power to the point that he would hold Gloria hostage, and willingly jeopardize the innocent life of millions.

Innovative and thought-provoking, Colossal is an ambitious exposé on the subject of abuse. Original stories, like Colossal, is an absolute necessity.

(Originally posted on 2 Oct 2017 @projectunwrapped)

The Big Sick

For a romantic dramedy, the romance part of the film is easily the weakest. The back-and-forth of the relationship between Kumail and Emily was tiresome to watch. It’s mostly a retread of the same cliché rom-com tropes that have already been beaten to death. The resolution to their relationship is also dissatisfying and it ultimately sacrifices character growth in order to tack on a happy ending.

Oddly enough, the other relationships in the film are way more well-written. Whether it’s the unlikely friendship between Kumail and Emily’s parents or the strained familial relationships within his own family, both are able to provide some interesting angles to parenting and parental expectations. Holly Hunter as Emily’s mother, Beth, is definitely a standout among the cast.

There were some genuinely funny moments in The Big Sick but the comedy is not always consistent. It can feel a little too mechanical and self-conscious.

You get a little romance, you get a little comedy, you get a little drama but the film itself could have benefited from a shorter runtime.

(Originally posted on 1 Oct 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

There must be some sort of mistakes.

In theory, Kingsman: The Golden Circle could have been a great sequel. It has enough callbacks to the original to remind us what we love about it in the first place. It expands on the mythology of the fictional spy world. We get to catch up with some familiar faces. It takes what we love, the humour and inventive action sequences, and amps it up tenfold. But, someway, somehow it has steered into the wrong direction.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle completely misses the mark about what makes the first one so charming. The routes that this film take with some of its beloved characters are strange and downright annoying. By overstuffing it with big names and soulless robot dogs, the zany earnestness in the original has all but vanished. Not to mention, the filmmakers’ attempt to “go big” by Americanizing the film is uninspired and irritable. To top it all off, here is a dose of casual misogyny that will go nicely with everything else to make its audience feel cheated.

As someone who thoroughly adores the original film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is sadly nothing more than a poor imitation of its brilliant predecessor. It is an unfortunate product of miscommunication between the audience and a studio that seems out of touch with its demographic.

(Originally posted on 24 Sep 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Baby Driver

The good-natured kid. The cute girl. The crime. The meet-cute. The car chase. The guns. The criminals. The escape. The notes. The rhythm. Director Edgar Wright wraps all these signature cinematic tropes into the car heist, action, romance, comedy film Baby Driver.

Wright builds an exuberant energy with the help of adrenaline pumping music. In Baby Driver, the music drives the film forward and becomes a language of its own, sometimes lingering softly in Baby’s ears or blasting uproariously in the hysteria of a heist, announcing its presence and demanding your attention. It compliments the scenes charmingly as a mood-crafter and carves out the atmosphere with vivid shadings. It provides its own comments on a scene or a character’s state of mind. Wright also cleverly synchronises the music with the action in a precise and meticulous manner, prompting the audience to groove along. Rarely do we see music in a film becomes a component so crucial that it dictates the editing and storytelling the way it does in Baby Driver.

Wright worked with cinematographer Bill Pope to heighten the tightness of the style. Every frame of this film feels so well put together and visually interesting, it’s mesmerizing to watch. The colour palette of the film is a vibrant and glorious exercise in primary colours. The camerawork is smooth and slick, sprinkling the film with visual devices that will delight audience.

Baby Driver is a joyous fun ride, pierced with sharp wit and thrilling on the road action. Wright’s sophisticated execution of his stylistic approach makes the film a truly arresting and unique experience.

(Originally posted on 16 Sep 2017 @projectunwrapped)

IT

The 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel IT follows the story of seven kids known as The Losers Club and their quest to stop the murderous clown Pennywise.

Director Andy Muschietti has crafted some nightmare-inducing imagery. Visual and audio clues are aptly and skillfully used to intensify those imagery, with just enough smoke and mirrors to distract the audience.

Right off the bat, the opening sequence of the film introduces us to the evil that haunts the town of Derry. Bill Skarsgård is a nightmare come true as Pennywise the clown. Unfortunately, that spine-chilling dread seems to disappear halfway through the movie. There is not a lot of variety in terms of the tactics employed in the film to induce scare. While the first few jump scares are effective, I can’t help but walk out of the film with a vague sense of disappointment. The film barely taps into the more cerebral aspect of horror, the kind that gets under your skin, that is promised by the first half of the film.

But it might be unfair to judge the film based entirely on how much it scares you because the film really does offer something that deviates itself from the other standard horror films in the barrel. It addresses the limits of using clowns and tricks to unsettle its audience by tying that fear directly to the kids’ home life in the small town. We discover that the problems on their home front, like being hunted by bullies, losing a loved one, being controlled by a pedophiliac parent, are every bit as troubling and horrifying as an imagined clown.

IT is a horror-infused coming of age story that will breathe some fresh air to the genre. But, in all honesty, it’s not as scary as the promotional materials suggest.

(Originally posted on 9 Sep 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Atomic Blonde

Atomic Blonde follows the story of an undercover MI6 agent, Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron), who goes on a mission in Berlin during the Cold War to retrieve a missing list of undercover agents.

It’s an overall stylish film. Leitch drenches the film in neon lighting and 80s synth beats. Paired with a striking colour palette, Charlize Theron is stunning and completely in her element as the lethal agent. The fight sequences are exquisitely choreographed.

Unfortunately, all these are buried under an uninteresting and convoluted plot, muddled in references to forgettable details and characters. The main narrative is also punctuated with interrogation scenes which only adds more confusion. By the time we get to the third act, you don’t even remember what they are fighting about.

Atomic Blonde features a mesmerizing performance from Charlize Theron. You just wish the writing would catch up with her speed.

(Originally posted on 30 July 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Dunkirk

When asked to describe the central theme of Dunkirk, Director Christopher Nolan stated that the film is about the “cumulative effects of small acts of heroism”. It is about the collective effort of human beings to surmount the insurmountable, to achieve the unachievable.

The story is pretty straightforward but Nolan made a bold choice to pull it all apart. Through the use of a non-linear timeline, the narrative structure of the film focuses on several different events culminating to the victorious rescue of 400,000 British soldiers at Dunkirk during the Second World War. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific protagonist or distinct storyline. Rather, the film tries to show us the broad overview of Operation Dynamo. It jumps across three different timelines, each presenting us with a different perspective of the evacuation. Yet, the film never stops being intimate. The immediacy of the situation at hand is instantly heightened by characters that provide us with a humanised and personalised look at the rescue. Every piece of the puzzle fits together effortlessly.

What Dunkirk is successful at is that it manages to position itself as an intellectual and impactful film without bombarding us with lengthy and contrived dialogue. Emotions are communicated among the characters, and to the audience, through glances and silences. The calmness throughout the film somehow magnifies the horror of the battle. Nolan’s longtime collaborator Hans Zimmer juxtaposes the suffocating quietness with a booming score, building the tension up to the next level.

Packed with intense action and sweeping emotions, Dunkirk is a deeply respectful take on the events of Operation Dynamo. Between the magnitude of the evacuation and the minute moments of desperation, Christopher Nolan has crafted yet another ambitious and symphonious film with Dunkirk which is destined to be another great addition to his already impressive mantel.

(Originally posted on 23 July 2017 @projectunwrapped)

War for the Planet of the Apes

There is this presumption that a film can’t be good if it’s a blockbuster that rely on heavy CGI and grand spectacle, and that the quality of a film series usually declines as we go further down the line. The Planet of the Apes series seems to exist completely outside of this realm of presumptions. It is the pinnacle of the intersection between CGI technology and cathartic storytelling.

Hardened by his experience in Rise and Dawn, Caesar in War for the Planet of the Apes is determined to ensure the survival of his family of apes and have revenge on the ruthless Colonel played by Woody Harrelson. The transformation that Caesar goes through over the course of the three films cannot come to fruition without the magnificent performance from Andy Serkis. With minimal dialogue, Serkis turns in yet another brilliant performance as Caesar. There is a real sense of complexity and dilemma underneath his every movement and expression. Serkis’ performance as Caesar is revolutionary, a testament to how far motion capture technology has come.

A minor nitpick would be the introduction of some new characters. There’s Nova, the young human girl who is mostly used as a symbol for purity and hope which can be a bit heavy handed. There are a few sequences involving her that felt manufactured and took me out of the film. The addition of Bad Ape as a comic relief also feels out of place in a solemn film that’s primarily about war.

While War for the Planet of the Apes may not be as impressive from a storytelling point of view as its two predecessors, it is still an epic and worthy finale to the Planet of the Apes series which has to go down in history as one of the most beautifully crafted sci-fi trilogies of all time.

(Originally posted on 18 July 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Spiderman: Homecoming

Shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Spiderman: Homecoming takes us to Peter Parker’s high school life as a sophomore. In Homecoming, we see Peter Parker resuming his duties as the “friendly neighbourhood Spiderman” and at the same time trying to impress his mentor Tony Stark.

Spiderman: Homecoming presents us with a refreshingly authentic portrayal of Peter Parker’s high school life. MCU newcomer Tom Holland embraces perfectly both Peter’s purity and naivety in his intentions to help people with his superpowers. Director Jon Watts took full advantage of Marvel's trademark humour to capture the youthful energy of Peter Parker and his eclectic group of high school friends.

While most Marvel titles are infamous for their underdeveloped villains, Keaton’s Vulture acts as a serviceable adversary for Holland’s Spiderman. Compared to past villains who share the oft-repeated goal of eradicating humanity, Vulture’s motivations here are much more relatable and grounded.

The filmmakers of Homecoming walk a tightrope between making a unique reboot of the Spiderman franchise as well as connecting the story to the larger Marvel Universe. This is where the film fails to move me the way I expected it to. There is little dramatic tension and not nearly enough build-up to Peter’s “hero” moment for it to feel "earned". The whole mentor-mentee relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker also completely falls apart and that’s mainly because of how Tony Stark and his many morally questionable choices are portrayed in recent Marvel entries.

Spiderman: Homecoming is a very polished Marvel movie that will no doubt please the franchise’s faithful fans and serve as a great introduction of this new iteration of Spiderman. But that’s pretty much it with Marvel films these days, isn’t it? If you happen to like it, by all means, enjoy the good old Marvel fun. And if you don’t? Well, there’s always another one right around the corner.

(Originally posted on 13 July 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Despicable Me 3

With one of the biggest marketing machines behind it, Despicable Me has emerged as one of the most beloved franchises among children. After the lukewarm reception of the Minions spin-off, Gru and his family take the lead again with Despicable Me 3.

On an entertainment level, the film offers plenty of flashy action and sight gags. The introduction of 80’s-themed villain, Balthazar Bratt, contributes a lot to the vibrant visuals of the film. The scene-stealing minions are relegated to a supporting role and their humour works much better here in small doses.

The writers crammed many subplots into the 90-minute runtime but they are so disjointed from the main action that they feel like a collection of shorts. While some of the subplots offer opportunities to challenge and dive deeper into the characters, they are simply addressed on the surface level for the sake of more action. Action is entertaining to watch but it’s even better when it has a purpose in the story. It takes more than colourful graphics to keep audience, especially audience above the age of 6, invested.

All in all, Despicable Me 3 is definitely a step-up from Despicable Me 2 but it does not offer anything you haven’t seen before from the franchise.

(Originally posted on 3 July 2017 @projectunwrapped)

The Mummy

By the time you are reading this, you have probably read many harsh reviews of the 2017 reboot of The Mummy or, like me, you have been dreading to see it because of the negative reviews.

The problem with The Mummy is not that it is an appalling disaster, it’s that there is not much to it to think about. Much of my frustration with the film stems from the screenplay. It plays too much on predictable and out-of-date tropes. The film enlists Tom Cruise to play Nick Morton, the typical witty and charming rogue in action, the kind you have seen in many other run-of-the-mill action films. Annabelle Wallis plays Jenny Halsey, the archaeologist who is positioned as nothing more than the damsel-in-distress and exposition device. It is quite disappointing that, in 2017, filmmakers of a big-budget action blockbuster does not challenge themselves to go beyond the longstanding and troubling female stereotypes. Princess Ahmanet/The Mummy played by Sofia Boutella is probably the brighter spot in terms of the performances but even she is unnecessarily sexualized. Comedic moments are sprinkled throughout the film but the jokes ultimately fell flat. Let’s be honest, how many more times do we have to laugh about someone’s sexual performances?

Despite the negative critical and financial reception for The Mummy, Universal plans to march forward with the Dark Universe, a new shared cinematic universe based around the studios' iconic monsters characters. As an inaugural entry to the Dark Universe, The Mummy is a pretty stale and unremarkable effort that does little to generate excitement for the future of the franchise.

(Originally posted on 21 June 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Wonder Woman

“It’s not about deserve, it’s about what you believe.”

There is an enormous and unprecedented amount of pressure on this film. In the months leading to its release, the internet went wild with rumours of it being a "mess" (which was subsequently denied by Director Patty Jenkins), criticisms about the lack of marketing and thinkpieces about the titular hero’s armpit hair. But above all the scrutiny, Wonder Woman is a spectacular superhero film that is going to please fans and critics alike.

Wonder Woman is a harmonious blend of fantasy, action, comedy and romance. The film is infused with earnest optimism that challenges our perception of heroism. Jenkins and Godot did a commendable job at portraying Diana Prince as a multi-dimensional individual. She is painted as naive, curious, devastated and honourable. By marrying the idyllic world of Themyscira and the gruesome reality of the war, we get to witness Diana’s progression from an innocent warrior to a wise hero. Bolstered by a charismatic performance from Gal Gadot, the vivacious empowerment in the film is refreshingly irresistible. The score by Rupert Gregson-Williams blended in with the action like a befitting ornament.

At the heart of the film lies a universal and genuine message that mankind is flawed but it is still our duty to help those who cannot defend themselves simply because we can. The film isn’t telling us to wait for a superhero to save us or dictate who gets to be saved but that we have the power to choose how we live with the light and darkness in us. That is a choice no hero can make for us.

Stories about heroes are pleasurable to watch not because it’s fun to see them flash their gears or agonize over their pain but because of their ability to shed all of that away, and still be kind and compassionate. Wonder Woman is a much-needed reminder that, in the thick of all the good and bad, we are all capable of heroic deeds just like the heroes we conjured up in our stories. That is the power of make-believe. I believe Wonder Woman is the uplifting triumph we’ve all been waiting for.

(Originally posted on 3 June 2017 @projectunwrapped)

Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant is a visually appealing film that once again showcases Director Ridley Scott’s mastery at creating immersive cinematic experiences. The sinister design of the alien, the sleek and meticulous layout of the spacecraft, combined with elaborate landscape shots of outer space scenery, Covenant has all the right ingredients for a picturesque sci-fi adventure.

While audiences are likely not looking for character development in a monster movie titled “Alien: Covenant”, the human characters have the potential to act as vehicles for us to latch onto, not only for a sense of familiarity, but also for evoking a sense of empathy within the audience so that we can better comprehend what is at stake here. But In Covenant, none of the characters are particularly likeable or memorable enough to fulfill that role. If the film’s objective is for the audience to not get too attached to the characters, then it definitely succeeded as I did not find myself looking forward to spending more time with these individuals. There is also something about Michael Fassbender teaching Michael Fassbender how to play the flute, while making sexual innuendos at Michael Fassbender and waxing poetic about human existence to Michael Fassbender, that reeks of pretentiousness. The biblical imagery and discourses about existentialism are meshed so clumsily with the actions that it ultimately did nothing more than garner a few eye-rolls.

(Originally posted on 26 May 2017 @projectunwrapped)