Quick Review: A QUIET PLACE PART II...

Several hours ago, I went to the local AMC 20 theater near my house to watch the sci-fi horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II...which, thanks to being fully-vaccinated, is the first movie that I saw at the multiplex since February of 2020 (when I viewed the live-action version of Sonic the Hedgehog at AMC 20). Needless to say, A Quiet Place 2 was absolutely suspenseful from beginning to end! John Krasinksi, who returned to direct the film (but only made a brief appearance in the sequel considering what happened to his character Lee Abbott in 2018's A Quiet Place), once again did a masterful job combining intense action sequences with, of course, quiet moments from a family deep in survival mode. Not only did Emily Blunt do a great job again as Evelyn Abbott, but young actors Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe gave amazing performances as Abbot children Regan and Marcus, respectively. And more star power was added to A Quiet Place 2 with Cillian Murphy as Emmett and Djimon Hounsou as...the Man on the Island. You'll have to watch the movie to know why the exceptional Hounsou didn't have a named character in this film. I'll leave it at that.



The main thing that I really liked about A Quiet Place Part II is that there were no major cringe-inducing moments (intentionally, that is) that would prevent me from watching the sequel again. I only viewed A Quiet Place Part I once at the theater—and that's because I couldn't bear to see Evelyn Abbott step on that nail protruding from that staircase again! Such a painful and visceral moment like this one is why the Quiet Place movies are such wonderfully-crafted suspense thrillers...and a testament to John Krasinski having a great knack for directing as well as acting on the silver screen. Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

On This Day in 2001: Remembering PEARL HARBOR...

It was on this day two decades ago that I watched Michael Bay's World War II epic Pearl Harbor at the AMC 20 theater near my house. Despite the fact that this film could've been better (it was Bay's attempt at copying James Cameron's Titanic—with an ill-fated love triangle set during a tragic historical event), I will always remember the amazing music score by Hans Zimmer...and of course, the intense Pearl Harbor attack sequence whose visuals were realized by none other than Industrial Light & Magic itself.

I'm reminiscing about Pearl Harbor because I watched this flick right after driving home from my final exam that concluded the Spring 2001 semester at Cal State Long Beach, my college alma mater. If you want to know why that semester was particularly memorable for me (though not necessarily in a positive way), visit my main Blog. Happy Tuesday!

Quick Review: TENET...

"We all believe we'd run into that burning building. But until we feel that heat, we can never know. You do."

The quote above is one of many that left a memorable impression in Tenet, Christopher Nolan's 2020 sci-fi film that I finally managed to watch on HBO Max earlier today. I enjoyed this movie—which was just as visually brilliant as 2010's Inception (especially in Tenet's action-packed climax in the desert) and conveyed an intriguing scientific scenario like 2014's Interstellar did. Inverted weaponry that's powered by inverse radiation created by nuclear fission... This is such a unique concept that I need to do research about it! Well, at least about the the inverse radiation part. Is this how we could hypothetically travel back in time? Maybe not.



In regards to Tenet's cast, it was remarkable. John David Washington was commendable as the Protagonist (yes, that's how he's referred to throughout the movie), Robert Pattinson was a loyal and effective sidekick and soldier as Neil, Elizabeth Debicki was a fierce woman out to protect her young son as Kat, and Kenneth Branagh was ruthless as Sator. Also doing a fine job in this film are Himesh Patel (Mahir), Dimple Kapadia (Priya), Denzil Smith (Sanjay), Michael Caine (Crosby) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Ives). I look forward to the next cinematic masterpiece that Christopher Nolan will bestow upon us in the post-pandemic era. That is all.

"We live in a twilight world. And there are no friends at dusk."

Images and Video of the Day: Gettin' Ready for VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE...

Just thought I'd share this theatrical poster, trailer screenshots and the trailer itself for Venom: Let There Be Carnage...the Andy Serkis-directed sequel which opens only in theaters nationwide on September 24. As shown below, the classic Spider-Man villain Carnage will finally be brought to life on the big screen—with his serial-killing human host Cletus Kasady played by Woody Harrelson. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and his ravenous alien symbiote, while Michelle Williams reprises her role as Anne Weying, Brock's on-again, off-again girlfriend from 2018's Venom.

As mentioned above, Let There Be Carnage will only be showing in theaters when it makes its debut this fall. All the more reason why Venom fans (and Marvel geeks, in particular) need to get vaccinated if they haven't done so already. I got my second dose last month.

"Chaos...soon come."

Quick Review: MORTAL KOMBAT...

So earlier today, I watched the latest incarnation of Mortal Kombat on HBO Max. It was pretty entertaining. I never watched the original films from the 1990s, so I have no clue if Scorpion was depicted in such a sympathetic manner as he was in this latest cinematic version. But Hiroyuki Sanada—who appeared in other movies such as Avengers: Endgame, The Wolverine, 47 Ronin and The Last Samurai—did a terrific job conveying the tragic backstory behind how the 'Demon Ninja' came to be. Though not to be outdone by Sanada is Joe Taslim...who was fantastic as Scorpion's cold archnemesis, Sub-Zero. Originally known as Bi-Han, this 'Ice Ninja' was so formidable in Mortal Kombat that Jax (Mehcad Brooks) was right to point out that no one could fight Sub-Zero on their own.



In regards to the rest of the cast, it was commendable. Lewis Tan was great as Cole Young (the descendant of one of the supernatural warriors mentioned above), Jessica McNamee was badass as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson was hilarious as Kano, Tadanobu Asano was calm and cool as Lord Raiden, Chin Han was malevolent as Shang Tsung, Ludi Lin was fierce as Liu Kang, Max Huang did an awesomely gruesome thing with his metal hat as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer was cool licking blood off her dagger as Mileena, and Mel Jarnson had a fantastic death scene as Nitara (Look at my previous comment about Kung Lao)! Also making an appearance in Mortal Kombat is Goro...who also went out in a blaze of glory (Re: disembowelment) too.



Unsurprisingly, the ending of Mortal Kombat lends itself to a sequel—which I'll definitely watch if Warner Bros. gives it the greenlight. Who will play Johnny Cage in the next movie, you ask? We'll see. But this sequel won't be complete without the Demon-and-Ice Ninjas making a return... Happy Saturday!

A Sad Day for L.A. Moviegoers...

FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images

A few hours ago, I found out through the Hollywood Reporter that ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres will permanently shut their doors—as business was unable to recover due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All I can say is, this is hugely disappointing...to the point where I almost became a bit teary-eyed as I read various news articles about this. Between 2004 and 2010, I had a fun job at a market research company where I worked movie test and press screenings at the ArcLight in Hollywood and Pacific Theatres throughout Southern California. Also, I watched such films as Avatar, Zero Dark Thirty and two Star Wars films (Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens, to be specific) at the ArcLight as well. Not only that, but I visited the ArcLight on Sunset Boulevard numerous times over the past decade to see costumes and vehicles used in flicks like Ant-Man and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, The Force Awakens and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, respectively, inside its main theater lobby.

And now it's all gone.

It's just painful that more nails continue to be placed in the coffin in terms of my memories at places that I'll no longer work at that I do want to work in again. I could make this Blog entry extremely long to voice more of my disappointment at this breaking news, but I'll conclude this here. Another era that I cherished comes to an end.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK Has Received a New Release Date...

So contrary to this previous Blog entry where I posted that Top Gun: Maverick was supposed to arrive in theaters nationwide on July 2, it will instead be released on November 19 of this year. This is actually great news! I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (by Pfizer) a little over a week ago, and I should get my second and last dose on April 21. While the protection by this vaccine would've been at its most potent in the middle of the summer, late November also gives a lot of time for millions of other hopeful moviegoers to get vaccinated before Tom Cruise's much-anticipated air-combat sequel lands in multiplexes everywhere. Herd immunity in the United States should already be taking place by the Thanksgiving holiday...hopefully.

And on another note, Indiana Jones 5 is expected to debut in theaters on July 29, 2022. James Mangold of 2005's Walk the Line, 2007's 3:10 to Yuma and 2017's Logan will direct the film. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who starred in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, will appear alongside Harrison Ford in the fifth Indy flick—while John Williams will return to compose the film's music score, respectively. Happy Friday!

AMC 20 Is Back in Business!

Earlier today, I visited my local mall, Puente Hills Mall (which, as you know, served as Twin Pines Mall in the first Back to the Future film), when I saw that AMC Theatres inside this shopping plaza finally reopened after being closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year! I'm so excited for this! Of course, I don't plan on watching a movie here till this summer (when the next Marvel flick Black Widow opens nationwide on July 9). But I'll definitely go to this AMC 20 theater when movies that are really worth seeing on the big screen (particularly on IMAX), such as Top Gun: Maverick, are finally unleashed in cinemas around the country. The Top Gun sequel arrives in theaters on July 2. Oh wait— That's one week before Black Widow is released! Niiice!

Images of the Day: Snapshots from GODZILLA VS. KONG...

So earlier today, I watched the monster flick Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max. It was a very action-packed film! I have questions about that whole Hollow Earth subplot, but then I remembered that I'm watching a movie about a giant radioactive lizard that fights a huge gorilla who welds an axe that Thor from the Marvel universe would envy. Also, if you're a Pacific Rim fan, you'll like how Godzilla vs. Kong pays homage to the 2013 flick by having humans build a gigantic robot (which is actually a classic Godzilla villain who I spoiled with two screenshots below) designed to fight Godzilla and replace him as the Alpha Titan. And of course, if you saw the 2018 sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising, you'll know that the humans' plan to use Kaiju brain matter to power that robot wasn't the wisest move in the world. I'll leave it at that.



The downside of streaming Godzilla vs. Kong online as opposed to viewing it at the theater is the fact that I paused the film so many times to capture these awesome screenshots below (which is the same thing that I did with Zack Snyder's Justice League last month). Oh well. This will probably be the case one more time with Mortal Kombat...which opens in theaters on April 16 and premieres on HBO Max exactly one week later. Happy Easter Weekend!

On This Day in 2011: Remembering SUCKER PUNCH...

Two years before Zack Snyder inaugurated the DC Extended Universe with 2013's Man of Steel, his fantasy-action flick Sucker Punch arrived in theaters nationwide. Today marks a decade since I watched this movie at the multiplex. Sucker Punch is an interesting film...which is basically about a character (played by Emily Browning) who resorts to losing herself in an alternative reality while being forced to commit demoralizing acts at a facility where she is being institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. In her fantasies, the girl—known as Babydoll—pictures herself fighting against the forces of evil alongside other women (portrayed by Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung and Abbie Cornish) who are also being held at the facility.

Sucker Punch is a pretty dark, trippy and stylized film...which, of course, would be a nice preview of what was to come as Snyder was years away from directing an ensemble movie featuring Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other DC Comics superheroes. That is all.