Tag Archives: Cobie Smulders

2019 Films, Adventure, Super Hero

Spider-Man: Far From Home-2019

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Spider-Man: Far From Home-2019

Director Jon Watts

Starring Tom Holland

Scott’s Review #916

Reviewed July 5, 2019

Grade: B

Having not seen the first two installments of the latest Spider-Man franchise, nor with any prior knowledge of the Avengers franchise or the cross-sectional connections of the characters to other films, I walked into Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) with little expectation.

And an admittedly limited understanding of the Marvel universe altogether.

The film is no better or worse than a summer popcorn flick with enough adventure and lovely locales to keep a non-super-hero buff entertained for over two hours without fidgeting too much.

The film begins with a nod to a past film, where a mysterious “Blip” occurred, erasing people for five years, and then returning them to normalcy, with no aging.

Shots of various Avengers characters, including Tony Stark (Iron Man), who have died, appear on the screen amid a musical tribute to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

Peter Parker (Spider-Man) (Tom Holland) still mourns his mentor as he embarks on a two-week European vacation with his classmates as part of a school trip. He plans to confess his love for MJ (Zendaya) atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Peter’s Aunt May (now reduced in age and sexy with the casting of Marisa Tomei) quickly packs his Spider-Man suit as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), a former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to enlist Peter’s help on a mission and provide him with Stark’s special glasses, named E.D.I.T.H. which possess all the databases of Stark Industries.

Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a master of Illusions, is recruited to help Spider-Man and serve as a fabulous Uncle figure.

These events all happen as Peter travels abroad.

The film is undeniably light and fun, with a bright and safe ambiance. The perilous scenes are not particularly scary or dangerous, despite the characters being at risk of death.

The teen romance angle enhances this assessment as it is a central component of the film, even as much as the adventure and superhero antics are.

Even before the teenage classmates traverse Europe, a triangle develops between Peter, MJ, and Peter’s hunky high school football rival, as does love at thirty-five thousand feet between lovebirds Ned and Betty Brant.

Tom Holland is very well cast in the lead role and is charismatic and believable. Charming with youthful innocence, he is part nerd and part hero, yet always empathetic and benevolent without feeling forced.

As a viewer unfamiliar with the first two chapters, I was immediately catapulted into his world of teen angst, romance, and his responsibility of saving the world. The young actor could have a promising future ahead of him if he avoids typecasting and chooses well-chosen roles.

The guts of the film, meaning the action sequences and the standard genre elements, are palpable and worthy of admiration on their own merits.

The visual effects are tremendous and crowd-pleasing, especially whenever Mysterio is involved. With a twisting, tornado-like blue and green swirling motion, he flies in and out of sequences with enough pizzazz to put the Wicked Witch of the West to shame.

Similarly, the gusty, unnatural storm, Earth Elemental, and the dangerous Fire provide magical and atmospheric power that enhances the film’s look.

Comedy, rather than dark and foreboding scenes, appears to be the filmmakers’ goal with this project.

As class trip chaperones and the students’ teachers, the comic duo of Julius Dell and Roger Harrington trade barbs with themselves and the kids, part bumbling and part incompetent, always offering comic moments of relief.

When Harold “Happy” Hogan becomes smitten with Aunt May, his awkwardness is cute and fresh rather than sappy and clichéd. The supporting characters have the substance to do so, but I would have preferred a bit more darkness or gloominess.

The sequences that raise Spider-Man: Far from Home above mediocrity are the excellent and plentiful European scenes, a feast of riches for this fan of world travel and culture.

The canals of Venice and the magnificence of Prague are nearly rivaled by the sophistication of London and the history of Berlin. Sadly, the film does not culminate in Paris as I had hoped and was hinted at, causing a slight hiccup in my vicarious travel pleasures.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) is a film perfectly crafted for summer, and it was fittingly viewed on a scorching hot July day.

The film is not a masterpiece, sticking to a tried-and-true formula and limiting the dangerous possibilities when one threatens to destroy the world in favor of humor.

The cast is likable, the villain is compelling, and the romance showcases more than just the main couple, being careful not to limit the cash cow of special effects and adventure that the film provides in abundance.

2015 Films, Comedy, Independent, Independent Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Results-2015

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Results-2015

Director Andrew Bujalski

Starring Guy Pearce

Scott’s Review #471

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Reviewed August 29, 2016

Grade: C-

Aside from one fantastic supporting performance by Kevin Corrigan, who should have been the star, Results (2015) is an independent romantic comedy that lacks any real identity.

The film struggles to decide which couple the audience is meant to root for, leaving me rooting for none of them, and frankly, a bit bored with the overall script.

Still, Corrigan and, to some degree, Guy Pearce make it a tolerable watch.

Corrigan plays Danny, a newly wealthy average Joe type who joins a gym, presumably to build a supportive network of friends, as he is new in town, Austin, Texas.

He meets Trevor (Pearce), who owns a local gym and is trained by the moody Kat (Cobie Smulders).

The three individuals’ lives intersect as a triangle of sorts develops.

Kevin Corrigan, who has appeared in numerous independent films over his decades-long career and in blockbusters such as Goodfellas (1990), completely steals the show and is the main reason to tune in.

His acting is effortless as he plays a lonely, rich man looking for human connections. He is troubled but has a comic wit that shines and gives him the vulnerability he needs.

We want him to find happiness despite being unlikable.

Speaking of unlikeable, Smulders as Kat is a frigid iceberg with attitude for miles. Why anyone, let alone two men, would be interested in her is beyond me.

Pearce is appealing as the good-natured, aspiring-to-be successful businessman named Trevor, who is buff beyond belief- to enormous credit, since Pearce is no spring chicken.

Otherwise, we know little about his character. He is not in love with Kat, but suddenly seems to be.

Kat warms to Danny, but then falls for Trevor. The entire romantic entanglement is silly, and no chemistry exists among them.

Casting Giovanni Ribisi as a stoner lawyer and Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club from the 1980s) as a fitness guru is pointless.

The fitness/gym angle is cool if you’re a fan of physical fitness, as I am. It is a nice little lesson as Kat teaches Danny basic core exercises.

But after too many scenes of Kat drinking kale shakes and jogging incessantly, or Trevor eating egg-white omelets and doing bodyweight exercises, the message feels like overkill.

They are fitness buffs- we get it.

The biggest fail is how the film focuses on Danny and Kat as a potential romantic couple, then suddenly shifts gears and makes Kat and Trevor the main couple, with Danny on the outside looking in.

It really makes little sense, and by that point I was already bored, so the film just petered out for me.

Results (2015) has shreds of potential with better-structured storytelling, but it misses the mark in many areas; underdeveloped characters and a meandering plot are a couple of major problems.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Supporting Male-Kevin Corrigan

2014 Films, Adventure, Animated, Comedy, Kids

The Lego Movie-2014

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The Lego Movie-2014

Directors Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Starring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks

Scott’s Review #284

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Reviewed October 24, 2015

Grade: D

A child’s movie in every sense of the word, The Lego Movie (2014) is silly and amateurish. It contains a hackneyed plot and a fast pace that makes the viewing experience quite unpleasant.

Computer-animated and driven by imagery, a scene featuring two human beings interspersed among the animations only makes the plot more sappy, overwrought, and predictable.

The film is a complete dud and a waste of energy, save for one lone catchy song that appears throughout. I am perplexed that this film received mostly positive reviews, as I didn’t share the same sentiment.

The premise is too complex for the target audience: in a Lego universe, where all of the characters are Lego pieces, a mysterious wizard- Vitruvius- attempts to protect a superweapon (Kragle) from the evil Lord Business.

While he fails, he prophesies that a person named “The Special” will one day find the Piece of Resistance capable of stopping the Kragle.

Kragle turns out to be superglue in the human world, as a cameo with Will Ferrell reveals he is the human version of Lord Business and refuses to let his young son play with Dad’s Lego set, thereby threatening to keep the set stationary with glue.

Inevitably, this leads to a tender scene with Dad and his son.

I didn’t find The Lego Movie engaging, story-wise or visually, and I was bored for most of the experience.

Admittedly, modern animated films are not my favorite genre- I miss the days of the classic Disney drawing-style films like Bambi or Dumbo both in the 1940s.

The major flaw is the film’s frenetic pacing. Did the powers that be think that all youngsters and parents dragged along have attention deficit disorder?

There was no time to pause and ponder what was going on in the story because it immediately moved on to the next scene.

The action is non-stop, so the film seemed like one long action sequence.

The main character, Emmett, a young Lego piece everyone thinks is dull, is voiced by Chris Pratt.

Emmet stumbles upon a young woman named Wyldstyle looking for something at his construction site- she assumes he is The Special, and they race to save the world from Lord Business.

Emmet, as far as a lead character goes, is likable enough, and predictably, a romance develops between him and Wyldstyle. We meet various creative characters like Batman and Princess Unikitty.

The film contains a sickeningly catchy song called “Everything Is Awesome” that will stick in the viewer’s head whether desired or not, and that is the strongest part.

It is not that the song is lyrically great or anything, but it is fun and easy to hum along to.

Overly high-octane and with an uninteresting plot, The Lego Movie (2014) may appeal to young kids in the seven-to-ten range, but it is a forgettable, tedious experience for this grown-up.

The film’s ending leaves room for the inevitable sequel.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Song-“Everything Is Awesome”