by J. Nagle
It’s THAT good.
When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse released in 2018, it shocked fans and critics alike. Sony, a company historically protective of the film rights to Spider-Man, worked with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to produce a well-rounded animated film that not only revolutionized the superhero movie genre, but the medium of animation as a whole in cinema. Newer animated films have already been seen to take cues from the film in their stylistic decisions and mature theming, such as Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic and Joel Crawford’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, both releasing late last year.
Naturally, both audiences and critics had high expectations and hopes for the sequel. It wasn’t a matter of topping the first film, but rather of reaching that high level of quality and potency it served audiences five years ago. As expected, the stakes and innovations and emotions that Into the Spider-Verse brings to the table are amplified and expanded upon in its tense and riveting sequel.
Much like its predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a masterclass in multiversal storytelling and a celebration of the medium of animation as a whole. Each character introduced feels unique, and each world traveled to fills the viewer with a different feeling. Whether it’s warmth, excitement, suspense, or anxiety, the viewer is along for the ride as Miles has to come to terms with the fact that his journey as Spider-Man is far from over, and the death of his Uncle Aaron was only the start of the hardships he’ll have to face.
Each character’s animation is affected by these new environments we see them in. Gwen Stacy’s world is heavy on mood lighting, which is extremely effective in aiding her story in the direction it ends up in outside of the film’s main plot. The disruption Miles’ presence causes in Pavitr’s world is felt directly because of the clash in art direction by the end of the sequence. Spider-Punk’s animation style took a reported 3 years to develop, due to multiple parts of his model being animated at different frame rates. While a bit distracting in his first moments during the film, this style eventually feels natural enough as the viewer has had enough time to meet all these different Spider-People.
Even with all this in mind, Across the Spider-Verse feels like it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of different animation styles, emotional developments, and the journey through the Spider-Verse overall, that’s not at all to its detriment. The film gives the viewer just enough to work with to not be overwhelming, while the cameos and references feel logical and retain the plot’s spotlight rather than taking time away from it. Everything is explained in a way that doesn’t feel like exposition to a hardcore fan while also making sure not to alienate any Marvel newcomers.
Lord and Miller are now 2-for-2 in terms of making really good Spider-Man movies. By extension—we’re pretty confident in their ability to make an amazing conclusion in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse next year.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is playing in theaters now worldwide.
by Emily Nagle
Joe and Anthony Russo of “Avengers: Endgame” fame are taking a break from superheroes to producing a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1997 animated film “Hercules“. The film will be produced by the brothers’ studio AGBO, and directed by Guy Ritchie, who also directed “Aladdin” in 2019.
Joe Russo said of Disney, “We have an amazing relationship with them that we’ve built over a decade. I think we have a point of view on how they can stretch the limits of their IP moving forward, rather than playing IP management.”
Russo describes that the live-action “Hercules” adaptation as being “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution.” This is sure to be a breath of fresh air for Disney’s live-action remakes, which have often been criticized for bringing nothing new to their original stories (the most recent example being “Pinocchio” back in September).
Disney’s “Hercules” from 25 years ago is a musical chronicling the Greek demigod’s rise to stardom and journey of learning what it truly means to be a hero. The live-action adaptation will follow suit, albeit in a different way: Joe Russo explains that he’s taking inspiration from TikTok to learn more about what people look for in movie musicals.
“Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like?” Russo questions. “That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”
Turning to TikTok for musical inspiration may sound outlandish, but Russo might just be onto something. At the end of 2020, thousands of TikTok users collaborated on a crowdsourced musical based on Pixar’s “Ratatouille”, complete with a playbill, set design, and choreography. It premiered via a charity livestream that ended up raising over $2 million and gathering 350,000 viewers.
by Emily Nagle
Happy November, movie lovers! The most popular streaming services are expanding their catalogues, with hundreds of new additions now available to view. And with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, there’s an ample selection of content for the whole family!
Popular films rolling out to Netflix this month include “The Pink Panther” and its sequel, “Dennis the Menace“, and “The Boxtrolls” (November 23). Fun watch-together shows that are new or returning to the platform include season 6 of “Gabby’s Dollhouse”, the second “Teletubbies” reboot (November 14), and “The Cuphead Show!: Part 3” (November 18).
HBO Max will be receiving the entire “Star Trek” and “Harry Potter” film series, in addition to classic favorites like “Mr. Mom”, “Caddyshack”, and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. Exclusive programs returning or premiering this month include season 53 of “Sesame Street” (November 3), “Say Hey, Willie Mays!” (November 8), and “Love, Lizzo” (November 24).
Disney+ has a slew of exciting premieres slated for this month, including the “Zootopia+” shorts (November 9) and “Disenchanted” (November 18), as well as the season finale to “Andor” (November 23). On November 16, Disney+ will be receiving limited series “The Santa Clauses”, a follow-up to the popular “The Santa Clause” holiday film series. The miniseries will chronicle Scott Calvin’s search for a new Santa as well as transitioning to life outside of the North Pole.
Amazon Prime Video is adding a variety of movies for every taste, from horror flicks like “Jacob’s Ladder” and “The Cabin in the Woods” (November 3) to action-packed thrillers like “Hitman” and its sequel, in addition to “The Expendables” film series. It’s also adding a slew of original films, including “My Policeman” (November 4), “The English” (November 11), and “The People We Hate at the Wedding” (November 18).
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for October 21 – October 23, 2022
5. Halloween Ends ($3.8 million)
4. Smile ($5 million)
3. Prey for the Devil ($7 million)
2. Ticket to Paradise ($10 million)
1. Black Adam ($27.7 million)
“Prey for the Devil” met box office predictions for its opening weekend, which estimated it would make $7-8 million worldwide. Despite this, it was met with negative reviews; critics have written that the film has a lackluster, forgettable story and overuses tropes from horror films. Directed by Daniel Stamm, “Prey for the Devil” stars Jacqueline Byers as Sister Ann, a nun who aspires to become the first female exorcist, seeking out the training of Father Quinn (Colin Salmon).
by Emily Nagle
Halloweekend is off to a spooky start with The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline director’s latest film Wendell & Wild releasing on Netflix today. This ambitious horror comedy starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele boasts brilliant stop-motion visuals in addition to providing a unique look into grief.
Wendell & Wild looks like nothing else that’s come out this year. It’s got quirky, uniquely designed characters – for example, demon brothers Wendell and Wild have contrasting body shapes that are super cartoonish and exaggerated. There’s also parts featuring ghosts and shadows that give an almost mixed-media look to the film, in the sense that they appear digitally drawn into the shots.
In an era of celebrity voice casts, Wendell & Wild gets bonus points for casting authentic voices for such a diverse group of characters; in addition to the main character being a Black teen girl who’s coming to terms with the death of her parents (voiced by Lyric Ross), there’s also a trans boy who makes fast friends with her due to understanding her loneliness (voiced by Sam Zelaya). The best part of the film’s inclusive cast is that it doesn’t make a big deal out of these differences; the characters are treated as people first, and we jump right into their significance to the story.
Although this movie came out right around Halloween, its message about coming to terms with trauma and grief will resonate any time of year. If you’re a sucker for creative animation – particularly if you’re a fan of eerie stop-motion movies in the same realm as Coraline and The Corpse Bride – or just love all things scary, then Wendell & Wild is the perfect film to satisfy your creepiness craving!
Wendell & Wild is available to stream now on Netflix.
by Emily Nagle
Filmmaker James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) has been appointed head of DC Studios, making him in charge of all future DC film and television projects. He is joined by producer Peter Safran (Aquaman, Shazam!).
As co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, the two will oversee all of WarnerMedia’s films and shows under the DC umbrella. Having worked with Marvel before on projects including the two Guardians of the Galaxy films, Gunn joined DC to help bring The Suicide Squad to theaters and Peacemaker to small screens across the world.
Warner Bros. Discovery stated in a press release that Gunn and Safran will oversee “the overall creative direction of the DC Universe across film, TV, and animation under a single banner”, as well as “spearhead the development and execution of a long-term plan for the many properties licensed from DC Comics, focused on continuing the tradition of high-quality storytelling for the DC Universe across audio-visual media, while building a sustainable growth business out of the iconic franchise.”
DC’s upcoming projects include Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Get Some Strange!
