Emily Blunt

The Fall Guy

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  • Title: The Fall Guy
  • IMDb: link

The Fall Guy

The biggest strength of The Fall Guy, loosely inspired by the 80s television show, is its stars. Ryan Gosling as stuntman Colt Seavers coming back from a failed stunt to work with his former girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt) on her first big movie is the kind of wacky dumb fun you would expect. Once arriving in town, things don’t go smoothly for Colt who is sent to find the film’s missing star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) by the producer (Hannah Waddingham) who dragged Colt out of retirement. This puts our stuntman in danger and also keeps him away from the woman he desperately wants to win back.

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Oppenheimer

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  • Title: Oppenheimer
  • IMDb: link

It’s been 13 years since Inception, a film which showed off director Christopher Nolan‘s innovation, technical skill, and storytelling at its peak. Since that point, Nolan’s track record has been spotty at best. While the technical skill in Oppenheimer is expected, the joy from the film is Nolan abandoning some of his trademarks, such as the overbearing booming score which at this point had become a caricature of itself,  in order to focus more squarely on a character-driven story based on a complicated man standing at the crossroads of history. The fact that it isn’t immediately in contention for best movie of the year has more to do with the troubled circumstances of its presentation rather than any failures of the film itself. More on that later.

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Jungle Cruise

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  • Title: Jungle Cruise
  • IMDb: link

Jungle Cruise movie reviewGiven Disney’s adaptation of Pirates of the Caribbean it’s hard not to see similarities with Jungle Cruise as the studio attempts to turn another theme park ride into a motion picture. Jungle Cruise feels like a mix of Pirates with a bit of The Mummy (and several other films) thrown in for a wacky adventure in the Amazon.

We’re first introduced to Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her brother McGregor (Jack Whitehall) who steal an artifact from the London Historical Society to search for a legend deep in the Amazon. Lily hopes to find the Tree of Life whose blossoms are rumored to be capable of curing any disease. Enlisting the help of an untrustworthy steamboat captain (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) the trio race to find the tree before a German aristocrat (Jesse Plemons) or centuries-old cursed jungle explorers (led by Édgar Ramírez).

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Mary Poppins Returns

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  • Title: Mary Poppins Returns
  • IMDb: link

Mary Poppins Returns movie reviewMy initial reaction to the news of Disney’s decision to make a sequel to Marry Poppins was something along the lines of “No, no, no, no, no, no. No.” Although it may not quite measure up to the original, Mary Poppins Returns does succeed in capturing the spirit of the first film and delivers a magical treat for audiences this Christmas.

Stepping into the shoes of Julie Andrews for the title role is Emily Blunt as the magical nanny returns to help the grown-up Banks children (Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer). More successful than something like Hook, Mary Poppins Returns still deals with some of the same themes involving growing up and loosing the childlike wonder that makes life worth living. Blunt is terrific in some inspired casting. Although the songs of the sequel don’t measure up to the original (there’s only a single number here even approaching the energy of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” or “Chim Chim Cher-ee“) the songs we do get help tell the story of the Banks children (Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson) and their introduction to Mary Poppins‘ magical world.

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(No Snow White &) The Huntsman: Winter’s War

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Huntsman: Winter’s War
  • wiki: link

The Huntsman: Winter's WarI wasn’t too impressed with 2012’s retelling of the fairy tale of Snow White. While visually elegant, I felt the story lacked heart and a willingness to truly embrace the fairy tale. Dumping one of its two title characters for the sequel, The Huntsman: Winter’s War brings back the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), the evil Ravenna (Charlize Theron), and two of the seven dwarves (Nick Frost and Rob Brydon) in a movie that is both prequel and sequel to the original.

The movie’s plot-heavy first forty minutes or so is problematic as the sequel explains the origins of Ravenna’s sister Freya (Emily Blunt) who will serve as the main villain this time around. These sequences also explain Freya’s madness brought on by tragedy and her army of Huntsman. This offers an extended backstory on Hemsworth’s character as well, including his relationship to both Freya and another Huntsman (Jessica Chastain) who kicks her share of ass and turns out be a far more interesting character than Kristen Stewart‘s Snow White. While still flawed, the sequel proves to be more fun than the original and something closer to the questionable success of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack the Giant Slayer.

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