Summers invariably signal the annual parade of Hollywood blockbusters, as physics takes a sabbatical, logic goes on hiatus and subtlety enjoys a vacation....
COVER STORY
Summers invariably signal the annual parade of Hollywood blockbusters, as physics takes a sabbatical, logic goes on hiatus and subtlety enjoys a vacation.
Every year, familiar faces return to the silver screen as some of the biggest franchises limp back into cinemas, hoping to make the studios yet another bucketload of cash. From explosion fests and CGI extravaganzas to A-list driven comedies and tentpole animated adventures, we are subjected to an onslaught of sequels, prequels, rebootquels and enoughalreadyquels.
But this year – in a development perhaps more shocking than any twist that has come out of Marvel or DC in, well, ever – the season has not just been about franchises and blockbusters. Some – well, two – of the most talked about films of the summer have been low budget original IPs, projects helmed by young directors that show the industry that you don’t need budgets the size of the GDP of a small country to make an interesting movie.
Here’s a look at what the season has had to offer so far…
Two decades after serving legendary side-eye in The Devil Wears Prada, the iconic Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) returns for … a treatise on the changing media landscape? Groundbreaking.
The OG girlboss still has her loyal right-hand man, Nigel (Stanley Tucci), by her side but faces corporate threats that could jeopardise both her future and that of the magazine she runs. The fierce editor-in-chief is forced to work with Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) – her former assistant and now a successful journalist – who is hired as Runway’s features editor without Miranda’s consent. When Andy seeks the help of fellow-former-assistant Emily (Emily Blunt), now a senior executive at Dior, to navigate a tricky situation, things don’t go quite as planned.
Reuniting us with beloved characters, this sequel serves little beyond nostalgia. It’s fun to catch up with the characters, even though it’s ultimately disappointing how some of them are written. Miranda is mellower and appears to have lost her bite; Andy is unrealistically naive for someone with a decades-long journalism career; and what they did to Emily? No, no, no!
Even though the team behind the 2006 hit (director David Frankel, writer Aline Brosh McKenna, main cast) is back at the helm and the acting is still top notch, the sequel lacks the kind of scenes, lines and fashion that made the original so memorable.
Grade: B-. That’s all.
Deep Water
If you’re afraid of flying, then your phobia is basically getting a starring role in Deep Water, Renny Harlin’s latest survival thriller. And if you’re also afraid of sharks? Then Deep Water is pretty much your worst nightmare projected on a giant screen!
The film follows the passengers and crew of an airliner that crashes in the Pacific Ocean. Unluckily for everyone involved, it’s out of the sky and into shark-infested waters for the survivors, who are left to struggle while hoping for a rescue.
This may, overall, be a cheesy survival thriller but the movie depicts an intense, chilling plane crash that is almost uncomfortable to watch and nightmare fuel for anyone who has to take a flight anytime soon; the filmmakers deserve props for pulling all of this off on a relatively low budget ($40 million). But the movie could have been significantly more riveting with better written characters and a less cringey script.
Grade: B, although a big giant F as inflight entertainment.
Obsession
Be careful what you wish for as Bear (Michael Johnston) learns the hard way in Curry Barker’s Obsession, a little indie horror thriller (a mere $750k budget!) that effortlessly puts major studio blockbusters to shame.
Its main conceit – backfiring Monkey’s Paw wishes (the film is partly inspired by The Simpsons episode ‘Treehouse of Horror II’) – may not seem all that novel, but the concept has been executed with unsettling perfection here.
When Bear comes in possession of a ‘One Wish Willow’ novelty toy and uses it to wish that his crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) loved him more than anyone in the world, he unleashes hell both upon himself and those around him. Disconcerting events ensue.
Johnston is effective as the often-unsympathetic lead, and Navarrette – portraying the equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking Nikki – is an absolute revelation. Ultimately, Obsession is proof, if it were needed, that it doesn’t take hundreds of millions in cash or an A-list roster to make a disturbing, engrossing, entertaining movie. Here’s hoping it inspires other young filmmakers to follow suit and explore their passion.
Grade: A
Backrooms
You know when there’s a thing that everyone seems to be raving about and you just don’t get the hype? That’s how I feel about Backrooms, a psychological horror flick that found its origins as a 4chan creepypasta before becoming a short film that turned into a web series that led to a full-length feature. That’s one iteration too many.
A furniture store owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) walks through a wall in his store’s basement and discovers a seemingly endless labyrinth of weird rooms, and ... that’s about it; that’s the story. Some other people – including his employees (Lukita Maxwell and Finn Bennett) and therapist (Renate Reinsve) – go in there too, and ... really, that’s about it.
And why should you care about the characters? Not a clue.
The aesthetics often overshadow the screenplay. The endless liminal space and whatever dangers lurk within is, one would assume, meant to evoke a sense of dread, but even when bad stuff goes down, it isn’t nearly as effective as it should be.
You might find it hypnotic if you like your pacing slow, developments ambiguous and metaphors forced, but for the rest of us, the experience soon becomes tedious.
The film’s creepy conceit and eerie visuals are compelling, and while I cannot give enough props to Kane Parsons for helming this project at the ridiculously young age of 20, in the humble – and clearly unpopular – opinion of this one mere mortal, the feature-length format stretches the concept far too thin. Short form is, perhaps, a better idea for something that is all style, little substance.
Grade: a very generous C
Scary Movie 6
The only thing I learned after watching Scary Movie 6 is that the Wayans Brothers and I have a very different sense of humour. Because man, this film is not funny.
The brothers regained control of the parody franchise after a decades long absence since negotiations fell through for Scary Movie 3 (2003). But instead of serving as a triumphant return, the movie feels more like a jumbled mess.
The script moves from gag to gag – referencing one horror/action flick or another when it isn’t too busy with self-referential callbacks – without anything resembling a story there to hold everything together. There’s the occasional memorable line or bit, but all too often the jokes fall flat. The film, however, saves itself from being a complete disappointment in the last ten or so minutes with a twist ending that is genuinely amusing and borderline inspired, but getting there takes quite a bit of patience!
Grade: zzZZzzz, upgraded to a D- for the B+ ending
Supergirl
James Gunn’s DCU appears to be in danger of being DOA unless someone rethinks the direction of the franchise, and fast.
It isn’t hard to see why the latest instalment, Supergirl, has tanked at the box office, and it’s not simply because of superhero fatigue – the DCU just doesn’t seem to have anything fresh or interesting to say at the moment.
The plot revolves around Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) going all John Wick on space pirate leader Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) after he harms Krypto (who seems to be a resident of the uncanny valley in this film, the poor super-mutt). Can villains please stop messing with people’s dogs already?
Accompanying her on the journey is a young girl (Eve Ridley) who is seeking revenge against Krem for killing her family. And who has zero connection or chemistry with Kara, a fact that you wish the filmmakers would have noticed and fixed at some point during production.
Oh and Jason Momoa is also (very unnecessarily) there but this time he is Lobo and not Aquaman because Hollywood has clearly run out of actors.
It’s all pretty formulaic and bland. Except for the music which is, at times, downright cringe. Like that needle drop during the climactic battle. Who on earth decided that subpar cover was good enough to be used in a blockbuster, let alone at the very climax, and how do they still have a job?
Supergirl never delivers an emotional punch and doesn’t give you a reason to stay invested in a franchise that has yet to justify its existence or excite viewers about superhero movies again.
Grade: C
Toy Story 5
The Toy Story series has been at the heart of Pixar’s success, putting it on the animation map and making sure it stays there. But the newer instalments are struggling to match the brilliance of the series when it was at its peak.
The latest chapter explores the oft-discussed topic of the role technology plays in kids’ lives, and while it handles its themes well, the project never feels significant enough to qualify as an essential addition to a beloved franchise.
The focus this time is on Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) rather than Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), as she tries to deal with the presence of Lilypad (Greta Lee), a tablet that Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is given by her parents in the hopes that it will help her socialise with other kids. When things begin to unravel, the toy gang unites to help Jessie and Bonnie and make things right.
It’s not quite as moving as the best of Pixar (or even the best of this franchise) and it really doesn’t come close to the brilliance of something as delightful as director Andrew Stanton’s Finding Nemo and WALL-E, but it’s still charming enough to entertain kids and long-term fans of the series.
Grade: B
To be continued ... after a brief intermission. Because even articles about Hollywood deserve sequels. We’ll be back in a few weeks, assuming no one reboots reality in the interim.
