“Onward” Movie Review

    Traditionally, a joint effort from Disney and Pixar means big bucks for ‘the house of mouse’ at the box office.  2020 has been anything but traditional for Hollywood unfortunately and due to the deadly outbreak of the Coronavirus, the latest Disney and Pixar film “Onward” ended up doing rather poorly at the box office before the theaters ultimately closed down.  “Onward” seemed like a film doomed to fail due to circumstances beyond it’s control but it is fortunately found life again on Disney+.

    The film tells the story of two brothers, Ian and Barley, who are very different from each other.  The brothers live in a world that was once filled with magic and mythical creatures but that world, like our own, has been lost due to modern innovation.  The only thing seemingly connecting the brothers is the fact that they both miss their father deeply.  Upon Ian’s sixteenth birthday, the brothers are presented a magical staff that their father wanted them to have when they were old enough.  In addition to the staff, their father also left them a powerful gem and a spell to bring him back for twenty-four hours.  After Barley fails to be able to summon their father back, Ian is able to successfully make the spell work.  Unfortunately for both of them, the gem powerful enough to bring their father back explodes halfway into the process and they only bring his bottom half back.  After that, the group set off on an adventure to find another gem to finish the process before their twenty-four hour goes away forever.

    It’s really a shame this film fell victim to the forced shutdown of theaters due to the Coronavirus.  “Onward” just happened to be one of the last major studio films released before the theater chains were forced to shut down and studios scrambled to find new release dates for future releases.  Fortunately, Disney was wise enough to offer the film for digital rental shortly after the pandemic and put the film on their Disney+ streaming service roughly a month after it was released in theaters.  This has turned out to be a rather smart move for the company because their streaming service keeps getting more and more subscribers and “Onward” has been trending on social media since it’s digital release.

    “Onward” is the kind of film that I feel really would have had legs at the box office.  It’s unique and has the perfect amount of sentimentality to really get people spreading good word of mouth.  It is also a film that is relatable to many people on very personal levels.  Anyone who has had a sibling who turned out to be more of a parental figure to them or anyone who has lost a parent are going to have a hard time fighting back tears at certain parts of this film.  As someone who has lost both their parents, I would do anything to see them once more.

    A large part of the charm of this film comes from the vocal talent of the two main stars, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt.  Both actors are veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and automatically have a natural chemistry with each other.  Holland and Pratt are able to give very funny performances but also pull on the heart strings when an emotional scene comes up.

    I love the feel of this film and the nods to other fantasy movies as well.   “Onward” is basically what the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth would look like now with modern technology and it was incredibly entertaining!  Can you imagine if games like ‘Magic the Gathering’ or ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ were based on historical events?  Imagination like that is what gives Pixar movies their charm.

    I was very impressed by “Onward” and it was nice to see a new movie with some passion put into it from home.  During these troubled times, a sweet fantasy movie is just what we need.

Grade: B+

“Point Blank” Movie Review

    So I wanted to watch a new movie last week so I decided to see what Netflix had to offer and a movie called “Point Blank” was suggested to me by the streaming service.  I decided to take Netflix’s suggestion for a change and started watching the film.  I figured best case scenario I would enjoy it, worst case scenario I would have something interesting to say in my review.

    The film tells the story Abe as he flees the scene of a crime and ends up getting hit by an oncoming vehicle while waiting for his getaway driver (who happens to be his brother Mateo).  While in the hospital, Abe is treated by his nurse Paul.  When Mateo finds out Paul is treating Abe, he kidnaps Paul’s pregnant wife and informs Paul that if he ever wants to see her again, he will get Abe past security.  While Paul helps Abe escape successfully, things don’t exactly go as planned.

    I wish I had a lot of things to say about the film one way or another but the film was just rather bland to be honest.  I didn’t hate the film, but I didn’t love it either.  I can’t honestly say I expected the film to be a masterpiece, it is a Netflix original after all, but I still hoped I was wrong.

    Perhaps my hopes were heightened by the fact that two Marvel Cinematic Universe actors, Frank Grillo and Anthony Mackie, star in the film.  The pair do a good job with the material they were given but that isn’t a lot.  Grillo and Mackie do have a good chemistry together however.

    I guess the thing I took away from the film most was the bizarre action set pieces featured in the film.  While some of them might have sounded good on paper, on screen they just came across as awkward a lot of the time.  For instance, the fight scene in a car wash might have seemed like an original idea but it just seemed a bit silly in the film.  The film also had a very generic music score which certainly didn’t help set the mood.

    “Point Blank” has a fine cast but the rest of the film coasts on their charm.  It’s not a terrible film, but at least if it was, it might be so bad it’s good.

Grade: D+

“Avengers: Endgame” Movie Review

    I just got out of a screening of “Avengers: Endgame” and judging from the box office figures for the film, I think almost everyone in the world has already seen this film once already as well.  The tickets were purchased for my girlfriend and I by her friend Violet and I would like to take a quick second and thank her for that.  We were both very grateful for the kind gesture.  This review will not contain spoilers to the main plot or outcome of the film so no need to worry if you have not seen the film.

    The film follows the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and details how the Avengers (and the world as a whole) move forward from losing to Thanos and the universe losing half of it’s population as a result of the snap.  Naturally, without giving anything away, the Avengers set forth a plan to find Thanos and try to undo the death and damage he has caused throughout the universe.  Refreshingly, the trailers and the television spots do not give a lot away and the main plot is kept largely under wraps.  Thankfully most fans have also been good about not posting spoilers online.  (Although I have noticed the spoilers are starting to creep in more and more.)

    I very much enjoyed the movie and I am still processing elements of it.  As of this moment, I am not sure which film I enjoyed more, this or “Avengers: Infinity War”.  This movie felt like a payoff to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and it’s hard to see this movie (or Infinity War) being topped by any future movie Marvel makes.  If you have watched all twenty one films prior to seeing this, there are some amazing Easter Eggs and set pieces that feel like they were placed in the movie as a thank you to the fans.  The cherry on top of “Avengers: Endgame” has to be all the amazing cameo appearances.

    Clocking in at around three hours, the film doesn’t feel that long and almost leaves you wishing it was longer.  The pace of the film is benefited by the films heroes going on separate adventures before reuniting at the end.  While that helps make the film breeze by, it does affect the story structure a bit.  While “Avengers: Infinity War” somehow managed to incorporate a ton of characters and still form a very tight story structure, “Avengers: Endgame” is a little more messy.

    There are a few things that don’t really work well in the film but they are typically minor things that can easily be looked past.  There is no such thing as a perfect film after all.  The biggest misstep in an otherwise great movie in my opinion however is the inclusion of Captain Marvel.  For a character only introduced one film prior, her inclusion felt like Marvel was trying to force her down our throats.  I didn’t hate “Captain Marvel” but I think the focus of the film should have been kept on the classic Avengers.  That being said, Captain Marvel has only a minor role so it doesn’t hurt the film too much overall.

    On the subject of the original Avengers team, this movie feels like an amazing sendoff to many of those original members.  Each actor is given some great character moments and for a few of them, given emotional and fitting farewells.  While the door remains open for almost any of the characters to return somewhere down the line (this is a comic book universe after all), it is clear this film serves as a bit of a bookend to the entire film series as a whole so far.

    “Avengers: Endgame” is a film that works best if you have seen the first twenty one Marvel movies but is also an amazing film on it’s own and a rewarding follow up to “Avengers: Infinity War”.  While I said earlier that the film had a few parts that didn’t quite work out, the parts that do work are beyond incredible.  I hate the phrase fan service since it is typically used negatively but “Avengers: Endgame” embraces fan service and in the film it feels earned and like a reward.  The only warning I have for fans of the MCU is that they may want to bring tissues, it will be difficult to leave the theater with dry eyes.

Grade: A