Month: February 2024

Players

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In Netflix’s latest rom-com venture, Mack (Gina Rodriguez) is a sportswriter who has been making hook up plays with her best friend Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.) and their crew (Augustus Prew, Joel Courtney and Liza Koshy) for years. When she unexpectedly falls for hotshot reporter Nick (Tom Ellis), her plans are thwarted, and she is forced to rethink everything she thought she knew about the games she crafted.

Players looked like a cute film from its trailer. The cast is great with the likes of Rodriguez, who is not only stunning but full of charisma, Wayans Jr. who has great comedic chops and the delectable Ellis fresh off his run from the streaming platform’s Lucifer. But as I settled in and the story progressed, the excitement soon disintegrated.

The chemistry between the core group of friends was playful and fun. I enjoyed the various plays they made at the beginning, like the fishing one. The tone changed, however, when Mack started pursuing Nick. The lead up was entertaining and then the cracks started to show. Nick turned out to be a pretty awful person and it was hard to watch the scenes they shared together.

In fact, the main problem I had with this movie was in its characters. It is obvious from the get go that Adam has always held a torch for Mack, but we’re grasping at straws trying to piece together their history. And then there is Mack who is clearly running away from her true feelings. She makes a lot of questionable decisions which made it hard to root for her. Perhaps having some flashbacks with her and her parents showing their strong bond would have made me understand why she was so closed off in relationships.

Overall, Players could have been a home run, but instead it never really got off the ground. Had the characters been reworked slightly with more fleshed out backstories, it would have been more compelling and well rounded. I also would have cared about them more as a result.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Madame Web

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Sony’s newest Marvel offering comes in the form of Madame Web. Cassandra (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic who lives in New York City. She develops powers that allow her to see the future which she can use to change it. When revelations come to light about her past, she forms a relationship with three young women who are bound for greatness.

Ever since I saw the film yesterday, I’ve been wrecking my head trying to formulate my thoughts about it. This was one that I was super excited for; the cast is great and a female version of Spider-Man more than sparked my interest, but it ended up being one giant disappointment.

The first letdown was the script. A lot of the dialogue came across as forced and unauthentic. As a result, a variety of the scenes were uncomfortable to sit through because you could tell that the actors were doing what they could with the source material and it just wasn’t translating properly.

Another issue that I had was that pacing. It took awhile to get going and it was as if some scenes didn’t get the focus needed while others got too much. The sequence in the subway that developed into a cab chase lasted for awhile while Cassie’s visit to Peru was only five minutes. It didn’t make sense.

One bright spot was the chemistry between Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor. They gelled together well enough and their camaraderie was realistic. Cassie was like an older sister to Julia, Anya and Mattie and if we do end up getting a sequel, I look forward to seeing more of them all together. Adam Scott as Ben, Emma Roberts as Mary Parker and Zosia Mamet as Amaria were also welcome additions. Another missed opportunity was Tahar Rahim’s villain Ezekiel Simms. He was one of the worst villains I have ever witnessed! I found him incredibly dull and didn’t care when he was on screen.

I’m sad that Madame Web was such a misfire. There was potential hidden deep within, I just don’t think it was properly brought to fruition. I feel bad for the cast, but it’s not their fault as they did all they could. I hate to say it – the future of superhero films is not looking too good.

Rating: ♥️♥️

Upgraded

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In this spin on The Devil Wears Prada, we meet Ana (Camila Mendes), a down on her luck intern who is passionate about art. Always in debt and sleeping on her sister’s couch, Ana dreams of one day impressing her boss Claire (Marisa Tomei). When she is invited along on the trip of a lifetime and is upgraded on the plane, she meets Will (Archie Renaux) who ends up mistaking her for her boss. Ana doesn’t correct him and sets off a string of events in her wake.

Carlson Young of the Scream television series tries her hand at directing here. The film doesn’t necessarily break the romcom mould, but it’s still got all the ingredients needed to make for a pleasant viewing. It helps that our leading lady is extremely relatable in her misfortunes and that you can’t help but root for her as things start falling into place.

Mendes has a few feature films on her back now, and with Riverdale officially being over, I’ve appreciated the various roles that she has taken on. I wasn’t as familiar with Renaux’s previous work though I felt like his chemistry with Mendes was organic enough. Lena Olin who stars as Will’s mother Catherine was an absolute treat while Anthony Head was equally as delightful as family friend Julian Marx. And as much as I wanted to like Tomei’s Claire, a modernized version of Miranda Priestly if you will, I could not get past her accent!

This was a true rags to riches story and I had fun embarking on the rollercoaster ride. I also love when the main character goes to a new country and have all their dreams start to come true, so this was pretty much right up my alley. There were still times where its unrealistic scenarios had me rolling my eyes in disbelief making it hard to look past.

Overall, Upgraded is a cute enough romantic comedy that is perfect for this time of the year. Though it borrows ideas from other well known stories, the incorporation of the art world was fresh and exciting. This may not be one that I will revisit any time soon, but I appreciated it for what it was.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Migration

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Migration is the newest of Illumination’s offerings. The Mallard family have a pretty great set up in their New England pond. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani), the father in particular, isn’t bothered when everyone else flies south for the winter. This year is different when his wife Pam (Elizabeth Banks) convinces him otherwise. Together they set out with their two children Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal) as well as Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) on the adventure of a lifetime.

Though the plot may be simple and straightforward, there’s plenty to enjoy. At the heart of the film the theme of family and this was depicted prominently throughout. The ways in which they worked together was heartwarming to see. You could tell they were close and would do anything for each other, no matter the trials and tribulations they faced.

At times it felt like the events unfolding were predictable. Sometimes this can be comforting because we know that everything will turn out okay. That was the case here. It was the journey leading up to the final destination that kept me invested with the scenes in New York City being my favorite. Chump (Awkwafina), a tough on the outside yet warm on the inside pigeon, and Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key), a down on his luck macaw, were introduced here and elevated the story.

From the tranquil pond where the Mallards live, to the skies up above and the bustling city down below, ending in the exotic beaches and waters of Jamaica, the audience is transported to many places over the course of the film. The animation was pretty to look at and really made me feel like I was along for the ride.

Overall Migration is the perfect film for all the family. Not only is there adventure, there are many laughs and a lot of heart thrown in that make for a perfect combination.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Argylle

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The highly anticipated new espionage flick from director Matthew Vaughn is about Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), a reclusive novelist who doesn’t get out much. When the plot of one of her books gets a little too close to real life events, she finds herself swept up into a life that she only ever wrote about in her books. With the help of real agent Aidan (Sam Rockwell), the two must think ahead of the game to save themselves.

Argylle had all the right ingredients for a great film. Unfortunately it fell completely and utterly short in so many ways. While it did start off promisingly enough, it wasn’t long before I started to lose track of what exactly was going on as the plot grew more and more convoluted. At some point, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were supposed to be taking it seriously or if it was some sort of parody.

One of the issues here was that there was simply too much happening at once. It was as though one detail from every spy movie to ever exist was added in to make the ultimate spy film. I’m not sure why they thought this was the right move because instead of it having a positive effect, I’d say the opposite happened instead. And once the twists were introduced, they just didn’t stop.

Another aspect that really bugged me was Howard’s performance. I understand that Elly was supposed to be scared – anybody would be in her position! However, I got annoyed with her very quickly and eventually kept rolling my eyes every time she was on screen which was obviously a lot considering she’s the main character. At least the rest of the cast was filled to the brim with big stars from the likes of Henry Cavill, to Dua Lipa and Ariana DeBose, Bryan Cranston, John Cena and of course Catherine O’Hara that it almost didn’t matter.

To say that Argylle was a disappointment is an understatement. I had been so looking forward to it especially since it was helmed as being the new Kingsman. It seemed as though there were some good foundations set that just weren’t executed well at all. I’ll probably still check out any future instalments to see if this one was just a fluke, but it wasn’t off to a great start.

Rating: ♥️♥️