Movie Reviews
Madame Web (2024) – Movie Review
Madame Web, 2024.
Directed by S.J. Clarkson.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, Zosia Mamet, José María Yázpik, Kerry Bishé, Kathy-Ann Hart, and Josh Drennen.
SYNOPSIS:
Cassandra Webb develops the power to see the future. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women bound for powerful destinies, if they can all survive a deadly present.
Her déjà vu senses are tingling! Set in 2003, following a perilous incident on the job as a paramedic, Cassandra Webb’s (a disappointingly bland Dakota Johnson) unique spider powers are awakened, courtesy of her mom, who died during childbirth while researching special insects in the Peruvian Amazon with the intent to cure diseases.
Directed by S.J. Clarkson (and a crowded screenwriting room consisting of herself, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, and Claire Parker), Madame Web has the right self-contained origin story approach in that if the rules of the ability don’t make immediate sense to the viewer or the protagonist, part of the fun should be discovering and coming to understand those ins and outs.
In this case, the superpower is a gift that allows Cassandra brief glimpses of the future, sometimes in the form of déjà vu. There is no clear rhyme or reason as to why these instances of déjà vu happen, what triggers time to jump back, how long they last, or how she comes to harness and control any of this. What this means is that much of the action set pieces here quickly become about sitting back and letting whatever happens happen without questioning anything.
At a certain point, it seems to cease being déjà vu altogether and just becomes an ability to see a short window into the future, allowing the set pieces in the back half of the film to come off slightly more consistent and reasonable within the rules of this universe.
However, there are two major frustrations with all of this, the first being that Madame Web is so devoid of personality, compelling stakes, threatening urgency, and multidimensional characters that, again, one remains passive and disinterested in everything occurring on screen. In theory, the story should be engaging to a degree, as it mostly does away with excessive CGI bombast to tell a more grounded tale of a woman learning what these powers are and attempting to use them responsibly out of the inherent goodness within her by saving three teenage girls from a targeted murder attempt on New York City public transportation.
What I’m about to say could be considered a spoiler, and hell if I know, considering the awkward screenplay that gradually reveals information about the three girls as if viewers are already supposed to know about these connections and their future superhero alter egos, so here goes: they are Sydney Sweeney’s Julia Carpenter, Isabela Merced’s Anya Corazon, and Celeste O’Connor’s Mattie Franklin.
Now, most of us are used to contrived storytelling as a means to get the narrative off the ground or spark a connection between key characters, but Madame Web takes this to a ridiculous level with heaps of exposition, explaining how all three of these girls have no family or anyone to go to for protection, and others solely up to Cassandra to keep them alive.
As for why these three teenage girls are wanted dead, that comes down to a vision by tech-savvy, filthy, Spider-suited/superpowered, rich criminal Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), where the three of them are killing him while dressed as superheroes in the future. So not only is Madame Web a rather dull origin story for Cassandra, but it’s also trying to set up a presumed sequel for these heroes. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything interesting to say about them either; Anya and Mattie are more extroverted and quick to run off, assuming that when Cassandra temporarily leaves them in the woods to go do some investigating, they are abandoned. Julia is more introverted and trusting but succumbs to peer pressure anyway to run off, act out, and draw attention (Ezekiel has also murdered his way into stealing technology that allows for easy tracking.)
This does pave the way for one of the more mildly exciting action sequences, where Cassandra has to once again save them from being killed, this time inside a diner blessing Britney Spears’ Toxic, working with her déjà vu and adapting to the situation to figure out how to accomplish this while keeping them alive. These are solid ideas for action sequences, but the filmmaking never fully takes advantage of the déjà vu aspect, and the fighting typically stops as fast as it begins.
There is a lack of momentum in the combat, choppy editing, and practically no thrills. It quickly becomes the second major problem with the film, causing one to wonder if Madame Web would have worked better as a video game since, at least there, this deja vu superpower would have been built into the core philosophy of gaming as a medium, which is to try difficult encounters over and over until identifying and mastering the best approach.
Regarding Sony’s recent disastrous track record with any Spider-Man adjacent film not made alongside Marvel Studios, Madame Web is far from disgracefully bad. It is to be admired that it wants to be less of a superhero film and more of a survival thriller about protecting three teenage girls from a villainous knockoff of Spider-Man, but it has no energy or exciting characters. When there are special effects, such as whenever the film heads to the Peruvian Amazon, the CGI does, however, look blurry and bad.
The script is also filled with dreadful line readings and clumsy instances of Cassandra talking to herself out loud as if the filmmakers are worried the viewers need the most obvious visual information explained to them. There is a point where Cassandra saves a bird from death by reacting differently following an event of déjà vu, where she literally says, “You survived!” If only the filmmakers could have used déjà vu while shooting to fix everything wrong with Madame Web here.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Movie Reviews
Kanguva Movie Review – Gulte
2/5
02 Hrs 34 Mins | Action Adventure – Fantasy | 14-11-2024
Cast – Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Anandaraj, Kovai Sarala, Redin Kingsley, Natarajan Subramaniam & others.
Director – ‘Siruthai’ Siva
Producer – K. E. Gnanavel Raja, V. Vamsi Krishna Reddy & Pramod Uppalapati
Banner – Studio Green & UV Creations
Music – Devi Sri Prasad
It’s been about two and a half years since Suriya’s film in a lead role was released in theatres. In an attempt to deliver an out-of-the-world experience to the audience, he teamed up with director, ‘Siruthai’ Siva for Kanguva, an action-adventure fantasy film with a period backdrop. It’s been a while since Suriya delivered a hit at the Box Office and he has pinned all his hopes on the film. After raising expectations with the teaser, and trailer, especially the release trailer which was released a few days back, Kanguva, was finally released in theatres today. Did it live up to the expectations? Did the director, Siva, come up with a memorable film for the fans of Suriya and movie lovers? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.
What is it about?
Francis(Suriya), is a bounty hunter based out of Goa along with his Ex-Girlfriend, Angela(Disha Patani) and friend(Yogi Babu) During a bounty hunting job, Francis and his friend meet a kid(Zeta) who is on a run. Both Francis & Zeta find a strange connection between themselves. What is the connection between Francis and Zeta? Why is Zeta on a run? Who is Kanguva & Poruva? What is their connection with Francis and Zeta? Forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Suriya as Francis Theodore looked a bit out of the place but he did well in the role of Kanga aka Kanguva. The way he used his eyes to perform in the role of Kanguva is fantastic. Disha Patani as Angela is wasted. All the sequences involving her are irritating.
Bobby Deol as Udhiran got a poorly written role with a very weird look and there’s not much to talk about his role. The child artist who did the roles of Poruva & Zeta did well. There’s a surprise cameo during the climax of the film by a ‘Most Loved Star’ but even the cameo did not work out. The cameo is used in the film just to give a lead to the second part.
Yogi Babu, Kovai Sarala and a few more notable actors are wasted in poorly written roles. Probably for the first time in the recent past, Yogi Babu’s comedy failed to evoke laughs.
Technicalities:
Vetri Palaniswamy’s cinematography is first-rate. The way he captured the lush green forests and the way he and his team shot the film during the night is fantastic. Cinematography is the only department that gave their hundred percent to the film. Devi Sri Prasad was disappointed big time with poor songs and a soulless & loud background score. Apart from the ‘Mannippu’ song and the background score during a sequence in the second half, his work is below par and works against the film. Nishad Yusuf’s editing is poor as well. His fast cuts especially in the first half were a pain to the eyes. There’s a lot of VFX used in the film but it is strictly average at best. Production values by Studio Green and UV Creations are grand but the producers would have invested a bit more to fine-tune the VFX part.
Director, Siva selected a very good core point but his lack of experience in executing a film of Kanguva’s scale and his tendency to overdo drama worked against the film big time. He and his writers would have come up with better writing. All we get to see in the film is one action sequence after another without a soul and emotional connection. His work overall is below par.
Thumbs Up:
Two blocks each in both halves
Suriya’s performance as Kanguva
Core Plot of The Film
Thumbs Down:
DSP’s Songs & Background Score
Weird Looks of Actors
Entire Goa Episode In The First Half
Lack of Emotional Connect In The First Half
Over-the-top drama
Analysis:
Since the release of Baahubali, many filmmakers across the country from multiple film industries have come up with ambitious films that are mounted on a huge canvas & interesting storylines to cater to the PAN India audiences but only a very few of those films worked out. Staying away from an overdose of local flavour is the basic rule that a PAN India filmmaker has to follow but unfortunately most of these filmmakers, especially the Tamil filmmakers inability to stay away from overdoing the local flavour is working against these PAN India films more often than not.
Kanguva has a very interesting plot and a setup that may have been very exciting on paper but the director, Siva and his team’s execution is loud, predictable and filled with an overdose of native flavour. Every actor in the film shouts and screams all the time for no reason. Along with the over-the-top execution and acting by almost all the actors, the weird looks designed for each of the actors, especially when the plot was set up in the year 1070, worked against the film.
The film starts on an interesting note with a monologue by an old woman in the year 1070 that questions the true purpose of each of us human beings’ birth, followed by another interesting sequence involving a kid named, Zeta at a lab in 2024. But, what follows after these two sequences in the first half is a mess filled with people screaming all the time and very predictable pre-interval sequences.
The second half of the film is marginally better compared to the first half with a couple of well-executed blocks but again, apart from those couple of blocks, remaining everything is unexciting. Also, the sequences Suriya, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu and others in the first half in the backdrop of Goa are forgettable. All those sequences are executed very poorly and test the patience of the audience.
It is the director who is to be blamed for wasting the potential of a very interesting plot with below-par execution barring four blocks. Another culprit is Devi Sri Prasad. Both his songs and background score are forgettable, to say the least.
Overall, Kanguva has an interesting plot but the below-par execution made it a disappointing film that may find it difficult to sustain at the Box Office. There’s a lead given during the climax of the film using a surprise cameo by a star hero for the second part but it is highly unlikely that the second part of the film will be made.
Verdict – Too Loud & Over-The-Top
Rating: 2/5
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Movie Reviews
'Heretic' Review – A Rube Goldberg Machine Dripping With Theological Boredom
Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65, Haunt, writers of A Quiet Place), Heretic is a so-called psychological horror that is disappointing on all fronts. After only seeing the trailer once months ago, I initially thought that Heretic was a film about a serial killer (Hugh Grant) who used his crazy mouse trap-contraption house to lure in religious, door-to-door service people and kill them.
While that is partially the case, Heretic follows two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, The Book of Boba Fett) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Wolf of Snow Hollow). The two women go to the house of Mr. Reed (Grant) who has expressed interest in hearing more about their religion.
As Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton make their way inside, they soon find themselves trapped in Mr. Reed’s bizarrely intricate home featuring electricity on a timer, a front door that supposedly won’t open again until morning, and metal construction that blocks cell phone signals.
Reed, a theology major with vast knowledge of all religions, claims to have found the one true religion. Whether the two women will escape or if Reed knows what he’s talking about all factors into the cerebral aspect of the film.
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Martin Freeman constantly looked miserable and bored out of his mind when he appeared in films like The Hobbit trilogy and the Sherlock TV series. He suddenly looked like he was having the time of his life when he shifted film genres, plunged into horror, and starred in the 2017 film Ghost Stories.
It seems to be the same case for Hugh Grant. While this isn’t his first horror film, Heretic is his first film in the genre in 36 years (Grant starred in The Lair of the White Worm in 1988). Grant is noticeably lively in his performance in Heretic though and seems downright giddy to be torturing people.
With cinematography by Chung Chung-hoon (Last Night in Soho, The Handmaiden), Heretic has two visually memorable sequences thanks to how they’re shot. When Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton first arrive, Mr. Reed leaves the room to check on his “wife.” While he’s gone, Barnes turns the candle he blew out and discovers what the scent of the candle is. As she slowly turns the candle, the camera turns with it.
Reed has a miniature duplicate of his house complete with little figures that represent Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton. In a sequence when Sister Paxton is trying to run away from Mr. Reed, we’re following her movements in the miniature but it seamlessly transitions from the model to the real thing when she enters the room and slams the door.
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The method in which Heretic is written is somewhat odd. Not quite horrific enough to be scary with its religion-defying dialogue taking center stage, Heretic is essentially a two-hour sermon attempting to destroy your faith with some splashes of blood and a raggedy woman or two dying in a blueberry pie.
It feels like if you walked into Heretic devoted to the Mormon religion, you’ll walk out of the theater a different person. Mr. Reed’s arguments regarding all religions stemming from the same concept are portrayed in a way that is believable and convincing.
He somehow rambles about Monopoly and board games, music, and vinyl records to demonstrate similarities between certain board games, how some songs are essentially the same tunes with different lyrics, and that all religions are more similar than dissimilar.
While the dialogue-driven film can be interesting, it’s also rather boring. There’s an unsettling aspect to Mr. Reed’s behavior that capitalizes on the tension in the film. But there are also these long stretches where nothing happens besides the next topic of conversation or a weak payoff where someone’s throat is cut with a box cutter or it builds up to a whisper.
Heretic is beautifully shot with a stellar performance from Hugh Grant, but its intriguing concept is drowned out by the desire to deconvert the audience and have a lukewarm reveal regarding whatever the one-true religion is. Watching the film is like being trapped in a church of a religion you don’t believe in with an overwhelmingly passionate pastor trying to dissuade you from ever coming back.
Heretic (2024), A24.
PROS
- Hugh Grant
- Well thought out dialogue
- Strong writing
CONS
- Talks the audience to death
- Horror aspect feels secondary
- Gets dull during final act
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Movie Reviews
Review: ‘Emilia Pérez’ is the most wildly original film you’ll see in 2024
‘Wicked,’ ‘Moana 2’ and more must-see films this holiday season
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt reveals his list of the holiday season’s must-see films in theaters, including “Wicked, “Moana 2” and more.
The next time you can’t decide what kind of movie to watch, stream “Emilia Pérez.”
In just over two hours, there’s pretty much everything: noir crime thriller, thought-provoking redemption tale, deep character study, comedic melodrama and, yes, even a go-for-broke movie musical.
The other important thing about Netflix’s standout Spanish-language Oscar contender? You won’t find a more talented group of women, whose performances keep French director Jacques Audiard’s movie grounded the more exaggerated it gets as the cast breaks into song-and-dance numbers.
Trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón is a revelation as a drug kingpin desperate to live a different, female existence in “Emilia Pérez” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; streaming Wednesday). She’s one of several strong-willed personalities seeking inner joy or real love in their complicated lives: Selena Gomez plays a mom driven back into old bad habits, while Zoe Saldaña turns in an exceptional and multifaceted performance as an ambitious attorney caught in the middle of drama.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox.
Rita (Saldaña) is a defense lawyer in Mexico who toils for an unappreciative boss while also making him look good in court. But someone does notice her skills: Rita receives an offer she can’t refuse from Manitas (Gascón), a notorious cartel boss who yearns to live authentically as a woman and hires Rita to find the right person for the gender affirmation surgery. After moving Manitas’ wife Jessi (Gomez) and their two boys to Switzerland, Rita helps him fake his death while Manitas goes under the knife and becomes Emilia.
Four years later, Rita’s in London at a get-together when she meets and recognizes Emilia, who says she misses her children and wants Rita to help relocate them back to Mexico. (Emilia tells them she’s Manitas’ “distant cousin.”) Rita moves back home and helps Emilia start a nonprofit to find the missing bodies of drug cartel victims for their family members. While Emilia tries to make amends for her crimes, she becomes increasingly angry at Jessi for neglecting the kids and reconnecting with past lover Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez).
And on top of all this dishy intrigue is how it works with the movie’s musical elements. Original songs are interspersed within the narrative in sometimes fantastical ways and mostly for character-development purposes. They tend to be more rhythmically abstract than showtunes, but by the end, you’ll be humming at least one rousing melody.
Saldaña gets the lion’s share of the showstoppers, including one set in a hospital and another at a gala where Rita sings about how their organization is being financed by crooks. Gomez gets jams of the dance-floor and exasperatingly raging variety, and Gascón has a few moments to shine, like the ballad that showcases her growing feelings toward Epifania (Adriana Paz), a woman who’s glad when her no-good criminal husband is found dead.
Gascón is spectacular in her dual roles, under a bunch of makeup as the shadowy Manitas and positively glowing as the lively Emilia. What’s so good is she makes sure each reflects the other: While Manitas has a hint of vulnerability early on, sparks of Emilia’s vengeful former self become apparent as past sins and bad decisions come back to bite multiple characters in an explosive but haphazard finale.
The stellar acting and assorted songs boost much of the familiar elements in “Emilia Pérez,” creating something inventively original and never, ever bland.
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