Archive for October, 2019

Movie Mayhem – Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 20, 2019

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil — 2019; Directed by Joachim Rønning; Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Harris Dickison, Sam Riley and Chiwetel Ejiofor

If you’ve been reading my blog since the beginning, you may have read my review of Maleficent way way back in 2014. In that review, I was very critical of the film in many aspects, including the watered-down — or non-existent — relationship between Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and Aurora (Elle Fanning) that was supposed to be the crux of the plot, as well as the lack of character development to make the whole idea behind telling the story of Sleeping Beauty from Maleficent’s perspective. The film was okay, and there was a lot to like, it just felt flat and uneven because it wasn’t executed to its full potential.

Changing things up behind the scenes was a good start for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Joachim Rønning takes over the directing reigns from Robert Stromberg and lifts the energy of the film to a new level, even while falling into many of the same traps the first film setup because everything on-screen is exactly the same.

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Movie Mayhem – Jexi

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 13, 2019

Jexi — 2019; directed by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Starring Adam Devine, Alexandra Shipp, Rose Byrne, Michael Peña, Ron Funches, Charlyne Yi and Justin Hartley

I wasn’t all that excited to see Jexi. With Adam Devine and a overlay of raunchy humor in the driver’s seat, for all I was concerned, the film could have been relegated to direct-to-DVD or on demand status. Or better yet, buried on some obscure streaming service to be seen by insomniacs browsing their feeds while high. But, CBS Films and Entertainment One decided to release it in theaters, and as I always say, you never know when a movie will surprise you. So I went to check it out. And boy, did Jexi surprise me.

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Movie Mayhem – Joker

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 6, 2019

Joker — 2019; Directed by Todd Phillips; Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen and Robert De Niro

Thirty years ago, Tim Burton introduced us to not only Michael Keaton as what many still say is the quintessential Batman, but to Jack Nicholson, considered for a long time as the perfect choice to play the manic, high-octane Joker. That is until Heath Ledger (who, much like Keaton, was originally criticized for being a poor casting choice) blew us away with his Oscar-winning turn as the deranged psychopath in 2008’s The Dark Knight. It didn’t seem like anyone would live up to Ledger’s unhinged frenzy, especially after Jared Leto’s utter butchering of the beloved character in Suicide Squad. Luckily, Joaquin Phoenix dispelled those fears by delivering yet another Oscar-worthy performance as the titular character in the gritty, dark character study, Joker.

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