Song Kang-ho and Gang Dong-won in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s BROKER — PHOTO: Zip Cinema & CJ ENM Co, Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda — Screenplay by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
First released in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year, Broker is the 15th narrative feature from Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. The film takes place in South Korea, and it primarily follows Ha Sang-hyeon (played by Song Kang-ho) and Dong-soo (played by Gang Dong-won) as they steal a baby from a baby box (a concept that was new to me) — a box where mothers can leave their newborn babies and thus anonymously give them up for adoption or an orphanage — to sell it on the adoption black market. Soon, the young mother (played by Lee Ji-eun) who abandoned her child tracks them down and joins them on a road trip to help them interview the child’s potential parents. Meanwhile, the authorities are on their trail and trying to catch them in the act of selling the bay.
Ezra Miller as ‘younger alternate reality Barry Allen’ and Sasha Calle as ‘Supergirl’ in THE FLASH — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by Andy Muschietti (IT: Chapters One and Two) — Screenplay by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) — Story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Joby Harold.
Few films have had as storied and controversial pre-release periods as that of Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. A live-action solo film about DC’s speedster has supposedly been on the drawing board since the 1980s, back when no one had even thought to consider multiverse movies or toxic fandoms. Over the years, the idea changed shape multiple times (and went through multiple filmmakers’ hands) from solo film to team-up film to guest appearance and back to solo film within the Zack Snyder-orchestrated DC Extended Universe (DCEU), as one of the follow-ups to Snyder’s Man of Steel. While we waited for this film to materialize, The CW’s shared TV-DC Universe, the Arrowverse, came and went with Grant Gustin portraying The Flash in a nine-season-long series of the same name, which just ended this year (and which, notably, featured an appearance from Ezra Miller — the actor chosen by Warner Bros. to play the speedster on the big screen).
Miles Morales as Spider-Man (voiced by Shameik Moore) in Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE.
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson — Screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Dave Callaham.
With 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a vast team of storytellers caught lightning in a bottle, as they managed to make a film that not only captured what makes superhero and Spider-man films so electric and fun to watch, but they had also made an animated film with a groundbreaking animation style. At the same time, they managed to introduce the world to Miles Morales — a once lesser-known Spider-Man — in a way that made him an instant fan favorite. Into the Spider-Verse is one of the best animated films of the 2010s and arguably the century at the time of writing. Since then, a lot has happened. The idea of a multiverse film has become so mainstream that the Academy Awards has even given Best Picture to a multiverse-focused film. To add to that, we even got a live-action Spider-Man multiverse film with Spider-Man: No Way Home. It would be totally understandable to think that the idea of multiverse storytelling is played out and that no one is clamoring for more Spider-People. Thus, recapturing that same lightning in a bottle was not anywhere close to being simple. And yet, that is exactly what has happened with Across the Spider-Verse, the direct sequel to the 2018 animated hit. Across the Spider-Verse is not just more of the same.
Directed by Eva Longoria — Screenplay by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chavéz.
Based on Richard Montañez’s memoir titled A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot follows Richard Montañez (played by Jesse Garcia), a Mexican American, as he gets a job as a janitor at Frito-Lay, which he hopes he can build a career from by slowly rising up the ranks. When the Frito-Lay factory where he is employed hears about the potential of significant layoffs, Richard tries to ‘think like a CEO.’ He comes up with the idea to pitch a spicy chip to Frito-Lay, which utilizes the kind of flavors that Mexican-Americans grow up with. However, when his own bosses won’t listen to him, he has to contact the CEO of PepsiCo (played by Tony Shalhoub).
Timothée Chalamet as King Henry V in THE KING — PHOTO: NETFLIX
Directed by David Michôd — Screenplay by David Michôd and Joel Edgerton.
Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s so-called Henriad plays, David Michôd’s The King follows the future King Henry V, “Hal” (played by Timothée Chalamet), as the once ne’er-do-well Prince of Wales inherits the throne to then go into war with France. In the film, at the Battle of Agincourt, Henry V relies on his chief tactician and companion Sir John Falstaff (played by Joel Edgerton) to lead his army to victory against the much larger French army led by Louis, the Dauphin (played by Robert Pattinson).
Matt Damon and Viola Davis in AIR — PHOTO: Amazon Prime Video.
Directed by Ben Affleck — Screenplay by Alex Convery.
Ben Affleck’s AIR is a biographical drama about the origin of the highly successful original AIR Jordan basketball shoe, which was designed with Michael Jordan in mind when he had yet to actually play an NBA game. It follows Sonny Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon), a basketball talent scout for Nike, as he tries to convince first Nike and then Michael Jordan and his parents, including his mother Deloris (played by Viola Davis), to choose Nike, which was, at that time, not the massive company that it is today, as his brand of choice. There are, however, quite a few obstacles that Sonny must overcome. Jordan allegedly prefers Adidas, Nike likely cannot afford to compete with Adidas for his signature, Nike is considering axing their basketball division, and Sonny doesn’t have the best relationship with Jordan’s agent (played by Chris Messina).
(L-R) Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Voiced by Bradley Cooper), Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Nebula (played by Karen Gillan), and Mantis (played by Pom Klementieff) in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 3 — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by James Gunn — Screenplay by James Gunn.
“What a bunch of a-holes,” were the last words spoken in the very first trailer for James Gunn’s original Guardians of the Galaxy film back in 2014. Here was a trailer that introduced Marvel Studios’ biggest swing at that point in time — a team-up film built around a talking raccoon, a Chewbacca-esque tree, a wrestler in body paint, Avatar’s leading lady having swapped out her blue alien for a green one, and a minor supporting actor from Parks and Recreation, who was thrust into a stardom that he still enjoys. Back then it seemed like a huge risk to back C or D-list Marvel characters, but a lot can happen in nine years. Now, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, and Star-Lord are some of the most beloved characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they had their own Star Wars-inspired Holiday Special just last Christmas, and the films’ director, James Gunn, is about to end his time with Marvel after having been both fired from (due to social media ‘receipts’ detailing offensive jokes) and re-hired for this very film in the late 2010s. Gunn didn’t just revive Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” and make your mom and dad know who Groot is, Gunn also established himself as one of Marvel’s actual auteur filmmakers, which is a reputation that has landed him a huge job over at Warner Bros. as the shepherd of the soon-to-be rebuilt DC Comics cinematic universe. But first, he had to finish his Marvel Studios trilogy. And, so, how did it turn out? Well, let’s just say, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films go out on a high note, as they are now arguably the very best Marvel Studios trilogy.
Taron Egerton and Nikita Efremov in “Tetris,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Directed by Jon S. Baird — Screenplay by Noah Pink.
Jon S. Baird’s Tetris is a biographical thriller about the struggle to acquire the licensing rights to the hugely popular video game Tetris back in the 1980s. The film follows Henk Rogers (played by Taron Egerton), a game developer, who, while advertising another game at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is introduced to a video game known as Tetris, which instantly hooks him. This love-at-first-play-session sets in motion an attempt by Henk to secure the rights to the video game for the purpose of reselling them to Nintendo. However, that is much easier said than done, since it was invented by a Soviet programmer and since he will have to travel to Soviet-era Russia to have any chance of securing the rights, thus putting his life at risk, while another far more wealthy potential buyer is willing to do whatever it takes to get the rights before him.
Dianna Agron in CLOCK — PHOTO: 20th Digital Studio / Hulu / Disney+.
Directed by Alexis Jacknow — Screenplay by Alexis Jacknow.
Alexis Jacknow’s Clock follows Ella (played by Dianna Agron), a woman constantly questioned for not wanting children of her own, as she decides to check herself into a clinical trial for cognitive therapy that could kickstart her biological clock. However, after having undergone behavioral therapy, Ella starts having these terrifying visions that interrupt her daily life and shake her to her core.
Ana de Armas and Chris Evans in “Ghosted,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher — Screenplay by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers.
A romantic action-comedy from the director of Rocketman, with a screenplay from the writers of Deadpool and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and starring Captain America himself and the Oscar-nominated star of Blonde and Knives Out (who, notably, proved her action chops with a memorable appearance in the James Bond flick No Time to Die) sure sounds like a winning combination. Apple TV+’s Ghosted is a film with so much marketable talent that it has several major cameos that almost feel crammed in there. However, even though this is a project that has attracted a lot of talent, Ghosted is a largely ineffective romantic action comedy where neither the romantic, action, nor comedic elements work all that well.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 