'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Review

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse doesn't release for another two weeks (December 14th for those curious), but I saw the film at an early screening tonight, and since the embargo's already been lifted, I figured I'd review it early!

'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Review

Nominated For: Best Animated Feature.

Won: Best Animated Feature.

Bitten by a radioactive spider, teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into Spider-Man. He then must team up with Spider-Men from other dimensions to stop a threat to all reality.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is co-directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman and features a screenplay penned by Rothman and Phil Lord. Believe it or not, but it's actually the first feature-length animated Spider-Man film to be released in theaters, and as a devout reader of the initial 2015 Spider-Verse comic series run, I was very excited by the announcement of this project. Though I remained skeptical since it would be produced and distributed by Sony's animation division, whose two most recent films were Hotel Transylvania 3 and The Emoji Movie... Not to mention that Sony has done a disservice to Spidey fans many times over the years... 

So it is with great pleasure that I say Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is an experience like no other! Not only is the hybrid animation style a vibrant and refreshing-of-pace, but it's unlike anything I'd ever seen in an animated film before. Into The Spider-Verse resembles a three-dimensional comic book in the most interesting way imaginable. You get everything from text blurbs and speech bubbles to the web-slinger's trademark thwips and spidey sense. Just as The LEGO Batman Movie was for Batman, Into The Spider-Verse is a fitting tribute to everyone's favorite web-head because there are plenty of easter eggs and references to Spidey's longstanding history across all forms of media. There is, of course, a Stan Lee cameo, and since it's the first time Lee's voice has been heard in a film since his unfortunate passing, my entire audience erupted with applause while I admittedly shed quite a few tears. On that note, stick around through the credits not only for a hilarious post-credits scene but also to read a heartfelt dedication to Lee. 

Though there are multiple versions of Peter Parker to be found in the film, this is Miles Morale's story first and foremost. Fortunately, Morales' cinematic debut offers a very faithful depiction of the character and his origin. However, this strict adherence to the source material may make certain major twists and reveals a tad predictable for any comic book readers already familiar with his backstory. It's admittedly a trade-off because fans would probably be up-in-arms if anything were to be substantially altered, but integrating his story with the Spider-Verse hi-jinks kept things engaging.

Into The Spider-Verse is charming from the outset thanks to the inclusion of so many Spidey-iterations, and the combination of differing animation styles and an A-list vocal ensemble really bolster this group of spider-people. Shameik Moore lends a youthful exuberance and vulnerability to Miles Morales while Jake Johnson portrays an older, burnt out Peter Parker (there's another actor who voices Peter Parker which hasn't been disclosed yet, so I'll preserve that casting secret). Meanwhile, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney, and Kimiko Glenn voice a self-reliant Spider-Gwen, shady private eye Spider-Man Noir, the porky Spider-Ham, and anime-inspired Peni Parker. Cage's Spider-Man Noir and Mulaney's Spider-Ham are honestly a treasure trove of comic relief, but that core ensemble had excellent chemistry between the six of them. Other notable actors are Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, and Liev Schreiber as Miles' easy-going uncle Aaron Davis, strict father Jefferson Davis, and hulking mobster Kingpin.

After previously webbing up baddies in seven live-action features, the beloved wall-crawler's assuredly swung into the medium of animation, and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse captures the spirit of Spider-Man better than any of its predecessors. In a surprising turn of events, Into The Spider-Verse is not only my favorite animated film to be released this year, but one of 2018's best films, period. Determining exactly where it ranks in relation to my other favorite comic-book movies will require at least one more viewing, but one thing's for sure, Stan Lee would have been very proud. 

Film Assessment: A+ 

'Isle of Dogs' Review

Nominated For: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

In the near future (twenty years from now), snout fever (aka "dog flu") ravages the canine population of Megasaki City. By executive decree of Mayor Kobayashi, all dogs are hereby banished to a gargantuan garbage-dump otherwise referred to as Trash Island. Isle of Dogs then follows a determined twelve-year-old boy named Atari as he hijacks a miniature plane and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. Once he crashes on Trash Island, a pack of mangy mutts join him on his epic odyssey to find and rescue his long lost friend. 

Isle of Dogs is the ninth feature length film to be written and directed by the idiosyncratic Wes Anderson. If you've ever seen a Wes Anderson production, you have a clear idea of what you should expect from an acclaimed auteur of his pedigree. There will be whip pans, symmetric shot composition, an obsessive attention to detail, colorful settings, obscure older music, quirky characters, and abundant instances of offbeat humor. Of course, all of these elements can be found within Isle of Dogs since the film champions Anderson's unique, eccentric style as its most defining attribute.

If you're a fan of Anderson's work, you'll likely be drawn to see Isle of Dogs because it's the distinctive director's return to stop-motion animation after his first foray utilizing the medium in 2009, Fantastic Mr. Fox. His obsessive-compulsive nature as a filmmaker simply means he's suited to deal with stop-motion because the process is absurdly tedious and requires an incredible attention-to-detail. In order for the models to move with an authentic fluidity, animators have to continually adjust puppets with the slightest alterations between individual photographed frames. It's truly a testament to the ability of these animators that I often forgot I was watching stop-motion because there was such a lifelike look to it all. It's really remarkable, and I'd consider it to be among the finest stop-motion animation I've ever seen on film. 

Like any other Wes Anderson production, the art direction, production design, cinematography, and score are all exceptionally executed as can be expected. Stylistically, the film pays homage to the traditional Japanese epic, and Japan in general, in so many ways. Tristan Oliver's cinematography excellently communicated a sense of scale and intimacy/aggression (depending on the scene's context) while sticking to the symmetrical shot composition characteristic of all Anderson's work. All the while, the film is immensely energized by the beat of Alexandre Desplat's percussive score that stands out as a unique addition to the two-time Oscar winning composer's resume. 

Meanwhile, the film is facing some online controversy of cultural appropriation... I'm not quite sure what exactly is being interpreted as such, but I didn't think there was anything in the film that could be construed as offensive. Perhaps I'm not "woke" enough to understand it, but I believe these claims are grossly over-exaggerated. If you see the film and think otherwise, feel free to let me know what I'm missing. I'd actually say Anderson does a great deal to honor Japanese culture by casting ethnically appropriate actors for the Japanese human roles, homaging Japanese cinema, art, and architecture, and incorporating elements of cultural significance. That's not even to mention the fact that Anderson made the stylistic choice for all the Japanese characters to speak in Japanese throughout the entire film. 

A title card appears in the beginning to inform the audience in addition to letting everyone know there won't be subtitles either. Fortunately, the dog barks have been translated to English and an interpreter and outside narrator are incorporated for occasional English translations. I'm sure this will be met with a divisive reaction from American audiences because we'd like to understand everything. I felt the decision paid off for the most part, but it admittedly impaired the narrative from as I found it difficult to completely connect with characters I didn't always understand. Although I respect Anderson's commitment to the concept, subtitles would have been immensely beneficial.

While I appreciated the broad overarching themes regarding the canine breed's celebrated characteristics of bravery, loyalty, and unconditional love, the film's storytelling is a little ruff (pun intended). This isn't to say film's story is entirely problematic, but rather to note it stands out as superficial when compared to Anderson's other work. The film relies heavily of the whimsical charm of these junkyard dogs cracking quips in deadpan, which worked wonders by the way. Otherwise, it's as if Anderson is holding audiences at an arm's distance from the human characters due to the aforementioned decision not to translate all the Japanese dialogue. There's enough expression for audiences to pick up on distinctive personalities, but they simply weren't fleshed out or developed as much as I'd have liked. 

Isle of Dogs does however feature an especially distinguished cast composed of Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Francis McDormand, Greta Gerwig, Liev Schreiber, Kunichi Nomura, Koyu Rankin, Ken Watanabe, and common Anderson collaborators such as Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, F. Murray Abraham, and Tilda Swinton voicing an assortment of humans and hounds. To discuss them all individually would be a logistical nightmare, but do know that each actor added a great deal of charm and lent themselves well to their respective roles. Cranston is undoubtedly the standout as the surly stray alpha dog, Chief, and I have to say Koyu Rankin did remarkably well for his first role in a feature film in spite of the Japanese language barrier I brought up earlier. 

Before I wrap things up, I suppose I ought to mention that adults will have more to take away from Isle of Dogs than children. I realize the appeal of cute dogs and a young protagonist might make it appear to be made with children in mind, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There's not really much in the way of inappropriate humor, but the comedy is dark on occasion and the story itself is fairly mature. Significant portions of the film also move at a slower pace that I can't really envision kids enjoying, especially when the humor will fly over their heads. One other thing well worth mentioning is that you may look to see where you can watch Isle of Dogs after reading this review to learn it may not be playing at a theater near you just yet. That is because the film's had an especially limited release roll-out from Fox Searchlight. They'll be expanding in the coming weeks, but I'm unsure when the wide release date is. I was fortunate enough to attend an advanced screening of the film though and wanted to share a review regardless of that.

I may not consider Isle of Dogs to be one of my favorite films from Wes Anderson, but Anderson sure is one sly dog, because I can't dispute the fact I left the theater with my tail wagging (metaphorically, of course). It's taken three months, but Anderson's given audiences the first animated feature worth barking about this year!

Film Assessment: B+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

This week I decided to go back and review X-Men Origins: Wolverine this week to correlate with 

Deadpool's release. This is in large part because it's the only X-Men film to feature the character of Deadpool and this is just one of those comic book films where I felt the need to express my viewpoint.

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' Review

Have you ever wanted to know Wolverine's origin story? Well, X-Men Origins: Wolverine attempts to answer that question. Keyword, attempts. Unfortunately the film doesn't deliver on the mystery and intrigue but rather muddles it with poor writing, a lousy premise and some awful CGI. The film has plotholes galore and completely disregards the continuity of Fox's X-Men film universe. There are about a total of one and a quarter good performances in the film. Hugh Jackman makes for a phenomenal Wolverine and will always be great in the role despite how awful the movie can be. As I stated earlier, the CGI is poorly rendered as Wolverine's claws looked very fake and I can't begin to comprehend why that is, given that all three of the X-Men films released prior to this made Wolverine's claws look cool and somewhat believable. When I said "one and a quarter", the "quarter" referred to Ryan Reynolds, who gets to portray Wade Wilson or as many people will soon know him, Deadpool, but only about a quarter of his screen time is enjoyable and does the character some justice. This film takes the character of Deadpool and literally shows no respect to him. Deadpool is commonly referred to as the Merc with a Mouth, yet for some reason the filmmakers decided to sew his mouth shut? This sloppy portrayal is not by any means Reynolds fault but rather the fault of the screenwriters, the director, and anyone else involved behind the camera. Reynolds is actually quite good at the beginning of the film where he actually gets to be charismatic and crack some jokes, but unfortunately the remainder of the film doesn't give Reynolds the opportunity to do much else then be the equivalent of a silent video game boss. Liev Schreiber is decent as Sabertooth but his motivations are so cluttered that it makes the plot that much more incoherent. Every other performance is pretty awful and a waste of screen time. Will.I.Am was even in this film as a teleporting mutant cowboy? Yeah, that was the point of no return for this film, but for some reason the filmmakers decided to keep pushing forward. As I said there are a few redeemable qualities the film offers, emphasis on the word "few". The film begins with a very well edited montage that showed Wolverine and Sabertooth fighting through all the major American wars leading to the Vietnam War which is followed later by a cool action sequence showcasing all of the mutant strike team, most notably Wade Wilson and his awesome katanas. Alas, the remaining action is laughably ridiculous and the film's plot doesn't really amount to much. In the end, I think it would have been best for everyone if this movie had never been made, hence why Fox rebooted their continuity with X-Men Days of Future Past.

Film Assessment: F

'Spotlight' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Tom McCarthy, Best Supporting Actor; Mark Ruffalo, Best Supporting Actress; Rachel McAdams, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing
Won: Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Spotlight tells the true story of an investigation undertaken by the Boston Globe's Spotlight team to uncover a horrendous scandal amongst the Catholic Church. This story broke shortly after the events of 9/11 and was the first major news story since that horrific event and the story earned the Spotlight team a Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Tom McCarthy directs and does a terrific job ensuring the film has a tangibility to it in the sense that I felt that I was watching an actual news reporter team investigation. Spotlight was a unique cinematic experience for me because the film's tension continued to snowball, deepening my interest and intrigue as the film progressed.  The film's story is very engaging and only draws more interest throughout the film. The entire ensemble cast of Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci were spectacular. I'm sure a few members of the cast will likely at least earn a few awards nominations but I felt that Mark Ruffalo was the huge standout. Mark Ruffalo definitely gives one of the best performances of his career as his character becomes a workaholic, which provides Ruffalo with some great character moments. There was never a moment that I felt I was watching these high profile actors but rather a group of very dedicated investigative reporters. The acting is also great in another regard because it all feels so real because all of the actors act like actual people in these situations rather than expressing over the top emotions, which would feel awkward in this film because of how the performances are subtle and tangible. I enjoyed Spotlight significantly more than I thought I would, as usually some of the awards buzz heavy films are either a hit or miss with me, and I'm fairly certain that Spotlight will receive a plethora of Academy Award nominations and won't be surprised to see it win in a few categories. I'd highly recommend the film for those interested in "Oscar bait" films or those who just want to learn about an intriguing true story.

Film Assessment: A-