“Catching up” with some mini-reviews for films I saw up to this point

I try to review movies as soon as I see them in theaters, but busy weekends and my work schedule makes me have to put writing on here off from time to time. This occasionally snowballs into a need for something like this article, a “catch-up” of some of the movies I did watch in theaters, but failed to review in a timely manner. The prospect of doing full reviews for all of them now is VERY daunting, so this will have to do!

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

I know it’s commonplace for people to talk about “superhero fatigue” in 2023, and I think this film was the first time I really felt that I was succumbing to it. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was a decent film, continuing the story from the previous two chapters fairly well and wrapping up MOST of the plot threads left hanging. Had this been released something like five years ago, I would have absolutely loved it. Today, however, I just felt it was okay, nothing spectacular – it was a movie I saw and I enjoyed it – nothing more. Do I want to watch it again? Not really, which is a shame.

I felt that the movie played it far too safe and followed the Marvel Cinematic Universe film template too much. It was predictable and seemingly exists only to set up Kang the Conqueror as the next “BIG BAD” of the MCU. While not the worst film in the MCU, it could be one of the most forgettable, and that’s a real shame. I really hope Disney slows it down a bit and reverts to a schedule like the one towards the beginnings of “Phase one” pretty soon, otherwise fan interest in seeing comic book movies all the time will eventually collapse.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Unlike Ant-Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does bring something new to the table and takes some well-needed chances past the typical Marvel formula. Perhaps due to fan assumptions that some, if not all, of the cast of this franchise were going to die in this film, this could have been a dire, gloomy affair. While I won’t go into specifics here of what does happen, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was far less depressing than what I was expecting. Not only does it more-or-less end this James Gunn era of this surprise hit franchise, but moves it forward to continue on in the future.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is more-or-less a way to have the beloved character of Rocket Raccoon stand out and take center stage for once. By showing his past, why he acts and feels the way he does, and allowing him to grow past being a crotchety one-liner machine, the character became far more fleshed out. By utilizing an interesting ensemble cast, great music, and an emotionally spectacular script, James Gunn hit it out of the park one last time for Disney. Now it’s onwards to hopefully right the sinking ship that has been Warner Bros. DC films!

Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse

When most movie studios were content phoning it in on animated feature films, largely churning out garbage with a stock art style and vapid plot, Sony went out of its way to make one of, if not THE best Spider-Man films of all time with 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Sony catches a lot of hell for their handling of the Spider-Man franchise, but I would be surprised to find anyone producing a better, more technologically advanced animated series than these films. Into the Spider-Verse was such a hit everyone just knew a sequel would be coming up at some point, and boy did it! Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse takes everything its predecessor did and makes it even better – better animation, more fan-service, a better plot, and an insanely good villain.

Going into this film, I somehow had no idea this was the first half of a two-parter, so imagine my surprise when the “TO BE CONTINUED…” card flashed up on the screen. Sure, the movie seemed to be running long, but I guess I assumed it would have a real fast ending or something. So now we have to wait until 2024 to see the conclusion of an insane cliffhanger, and I for one can’t wait for what surprises they have to share in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse!

Raiders of the Lost Ark (2023 Re-Release)

When Raiders of the Lost Ark originally came out I was not even born yet, so getting a chance to see it on the big screen was pretty cool. My son, who had never seen the film before, was pumped and absolutely loved every second of it. The film still holds up VERY well, and is just as exciting as I remember it being. I still haven’t had a chance to take him to the fifth Indiana Jones film (I know everyone hates it!), but after this, he immediately wanted to see more. This was a no-frills re-release, somewhat like the similar Star Wars Return of the Jedi release I attended earlier in the year, and as with that I would have liked some sort of “special feature” on the release. I guess I’ve been spoiled with re-releases like the Ghibli Fest stuff, and even the recent 20th anniversary of Oldboy.

The Little Mermaid

This wasn’t something I went out of my way to see, but my son really wanted to see it and I almost missed the chance to do it with him. Despite all of the idiotic faux outrage from conservative media, the film was actually pretty good. Who cares what ethnicity the fictional mermaid is, as long as she can sing, and the movie is fun that’s all that should matter. The good news is Hallie Bailey can sing, and the movie was fun. it’s a bit longer than the original and fleshes some stuff out plot-wise. The film’s special effects were well done, and there was just enough action to make a forty year old man stay entertained throughout. I think I was in first grade when the original film came out, so it definitely brought back memories.

Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer was one of the first dramas I’d seen in the theater in a long time, as I usually reserve the theater for action movies anymore. I figured that with it being a Christopher Nolan film, it would be well worth the theater experience no matter what. I had just finished a book called The Bastard Brigade by Sam Kean (which actually makes the “cameos” in this make more sense), and had some free time late at night that would be perfect for the movie. Being a history buff means that this movie was definitely right up my alley, and I love most of the actors in it.

One thing I have to say is that I WOULD NOT recommend watching this in IMAX unless you want to have no hearing afterwards. I’m not sure when the decision was made that IMAX is now louder than an F-16 taking off, but I miss the days when it was not like that. I carry earplugs with me for concerts, and I’m glad I had them, because otherwise I would have had to run to the concession stand for paper towels or something. The weirdest thing was that the bomb blast, a section of the movie one would assume would be loud, was not – but the rest of the film definitely was. I’ve heard Nolan did this on purpose, and I have no idea why nor have I heard an adequate explanation.

That said, this movie was filmed well, and it was cool when the scenes from Lewis Strauss’ POV alternated to black and white, then back again for Oppenheimer. Aside from the sound, my only real gripe was the “quippy” way people talked at times, but that’s an issue I have with a lot of older movies, so that’s just me. Overall solid experience and highly recommended. Definitely read The Bastard Brigade by Sam Kean either before or afterwards, it will help give you a better appreciation of the movie.

Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One

Prior to seeing this, I had missed the last few of these films, not because I don’t particularly like them or anything, there was just a period of like five years where I missed a lot of stuff. I didn’t go to the movies a lot, and missed a lot of TV as well. With that said, despite being the seventh film in the franchise, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One was a solid movie that is easily accessible to a lapsed fan or first-timer to the franchise. All one has to know is that Tom Cruise plays a character named Ethan Hunt, and he is a badass.

It’s the right mix of action and suspense, and has a very cool plotline where the main villain is a sentient A.I. that it’s subordinates seem to worship. While I feel that everyone’s weird obsession over how scary A.I. is misplaced and stupid, it’s a cool villain for an espionage movie like this. It definitely feels like something that would have been in either of the original TV shows these movies are based on, and for that I was very thankful. Now we have to wait until 2024 (assuming the strikes end) to see the finale, and I have a feeling that will be a LONG wait.

Haunted Mansion

When this got announced, I was sitting there like “they ALREADY are making a remake?” then realized that the Eddie Murphy film came out in 2003, and now I feel old and sad. With that thought, I wanted to make sure my readers realize that this is NOT a remake of the aforementioned film, but a new story that takes place with the same theme of people exploring a haunted mansion, and apparently one more based on the Disneyland/world ride. 2023’s Haunted Mansion is funny at times, but is far more serious and actually has some really good moments of dramatic acting, especially when the main character, Ben as played by LaKeith Stanfield, talks about his deceased wife. Ben is a complicated character, and one that stands above a lot of the more zany ones for these movies based on theme park rides.

I actually preferred this to the Eddie Murphy film in just about ever way, and am somewhat sad that it is not doing well at the box office. It goes to show that when it’s 103 degrees outside and the month of AUGUST, releasing a Halloween movie is a pretty stupid idea, and any company doing it has themselves to blame for poor returns. See my review of The Last Voyage of the Demeter for another example.

Well, there you have it, eight movie reviews done all at once to save time!