Deadpool 2
Dir. David Leitch
The first Deadpool movie came as a subversive revelation for the superhero genre - from the opening credits it brought a biting, self-referential humor into the mix, with a witty script and hilarious performances that combined the pop culture-obsessed raunchiness of Family Guy with hyper-violent, R-rated action previously unseen in any Marvel movie. Fox took a risk and it paid off big-time, meaning a sequel was inevitable. But while Deadpool 2 has its moments, it fails to recapture that same "lightning-in-a-bottle" punk rock energy as its predecessor.
When it's not being side-tracked with countless wisecracks and thinly drawn-characters, Deadpool 2 continues the story of mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) - aka Deadpool. Alongside his large, metallic friend Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and the disaffected Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), Wilson encounters an unstable mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison, Hunt for the Wilderpeople), an orphan who has been abused by the orphanage staff and is now literally fiery with revenge. While they manage to restrain Russell, a cybernetic soldier from the future, Cable (Josh Brolin), travels back in time in an effort to terminate the boy before Russell becomes a killer. Unable to stop Cable alone, Deadpool recruits some new members to join his "X-Force" - including Domino (Zazie Beetz), who's power is "luck," Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgård) who spits acid, and Peter (Rob Delaney), who doesn't have a superpower but just thought it would be fun to join.
Buried underneath its non-stop audience-mugging and meta-jokes is a plot not unlike that of Terminator 2, only without the brains, suspense, or story to bolster it up. What you get out of this movie entirely depends on your threshold for this kind of humor; while I loved the first Deadpool, here the jokes felt insufferably referential to pop culture. Its smugness wears thin quickly, and the jokes have no real substance behind them, breaking the fourth wall so often it's like the filmed consciousness of that annoying, know-it-all audience member who constantly whispers to their friends every minute nerdy reference in a comic book movie.
I also thought Deadpool 2's direction and action were less engaging than the first film. Directed by stuntman David Leitch, the fight scenes lack the inventive grittiness from his work on Atomic Blonde and John Wick. At one point, a character even says: "Big CGI fight scene coming up." There are also some half-baked attempts at injecting this movie with "heart," but mostly it comes off as incongruous and insincere in an otherwise cartoon, "Looney Tunes" world.
Deadpool 2 is a victim of diminshing returns - the first worked so well because it was fresh, different, and gestated as a passion project for many years before hitting the big screen. This sequel simply tries to one-up the first with more jokes and bigger action set pieces, but ultimately results in a more uneven, less confident movie that desperately doubles down on what made the first one great, straining to seem "cool."
Final Verdict:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Breaking In
Dir. James McTeigue
Who needs superpowers when you're a MOM? That's pretty much the only hook for this generic home invasion thriller starring Gabrielle Union, a sort of reverse Panic Room scenario featuring a hellbent mother and the dumbest criminals this side of the Wet Bandits.
Shaun Russell (Union) takes her son and daughter, Glover (Seth Carr) and Jasmine (Ajiona Alexus), on a weekend getaway to her estranged father's secluded, high-tech mansion in the countryside after his death. Upon arriving they discover that the house is covered with security cameras, gadgets, and remotes that control everything in the house. Hours later four criminals break into the house and hold Glover and Jasmine hostage inside, while Shaun is stuck outside. What follows is a dull, pointless back-and-forth between idiotic characters as the homewreckers (with no masks) try to find the $4 million stashed somewhere in the house.
The most disappointing aspect of Breaking In is that it does not make use of its high-concept premise. It takes its sweet time setting up this cool house only for it to not pay off in any way (this movie really could have taken a lesson from Home Alone). The characters and dialogue are also weak and unimaginative, with no personality. The criminals may as well refer to each other as Thug #2, Thug #3, etc. It's especially frustrating coming from director James McTeigue, whose V for Vendetta is one of the greatest comic book movies ever put to film! I'm sure this garbage movie will soon be "breaking in" to your nearest dollar store discount bin.
Final Verdict:
SKIP IT
Tully
Dir. Jason Reitman
After exploring teenage years with Juno and early adulthood with Young Adult, director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody's third collaboration together, Tully, focuses on motherhood - and the horrors that come with it. Although it's more realistic than the maternal horrors found in movies like The Babadook, Tully is an authentic portrait of a mommy run ragged. Charlize Theron plays Marlo, who has two kids with an unplanned third on the way. Her son, Jonah, has an undiagnosed disorder that results in frequent behavior issues, and her husband, Drew (Ron Livingston), is pretty deadbeat. At the peak of her exhaustion, she takes up her wealthy brother's offer of a night nanny, Tully (Mackenzie Davis), who appears to be the answer to her prayers.
Tully provides some great insights into the daily struggles of motherhood and Theron does a spectacular job at conveying the "trapped" mental state of a mom unable to take a break from life. However, for me the relationship that blooms between Marlo and Tully was very strange and did not seem dramatically satisfying. At first - based on the cryptic trailer - I thought perhaps this would be the beginning of a thriller, with the too-good-to-be-true nanny being in fact, exactly that, but no - here she literally is just helpful. I don't know what to make of this movie, it takes some very strange character turns (including one involving a fetish for a waitress dress) that makes no sense in the context of the film.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I found Tully to be an odd, unsatisfying film with an unclear twist ending that didn't work for me.
Final Verdict:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
You Were Never Really Here
Dir. Lynne Ramsay
Watch Trailer
Joaquin Phoenix may perhaps be a nutcase in real life, but damn if he's not one of the greatest screen actors working today! His latest movie, You Were Never Really Here, is a gritty, violent, 21st-century Taxi Driver with Phoenix playing Joe, a PTSD-riddled combat veteran working as a hitman. His latest job is to discreetly find and rescue a New York State Senator's abducted daughter - and to take out whoever's responsible. The gig takes him down a deep, dark rabbit hole filled with corruption and horror, forcing him to reflect on his life choices and the urban decay of soceity.
Giving the best performance I've seen this year, Phoenix plays a brutal character struggling to hold onto his humanity and sanity. In one instant he'll be smashing a man's head in with a hammer, the next he's taking care of his elderly mother. The pain, confusion, and trauma registers in his every interaction, and similar to Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, you are both drawn to and repelled by him in certain aspects. At the end of the day, though he's a vigilante on the "good" side, killing child abductors and other horrible people, he is still a cold-blooded murderer, and you experience the mental ramifications of that with Phoenix's performance.
You Were Never Really Here is a visceral, difficult movie to watch at times, but the acting, tense score from Johnny Greenwood, and visual, cinematic storytelling are all fantastic. If you have the stomach for a super-violent art film, check it out!
Final Verdict:
SEE IT!
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