Jungle Cruise

 Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Jaume Collet-Serra

Screenplay:  Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa from a story by John Norville, Josh Goldstein, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, based on Walt Disney's The Jungle Cruise ride

Starring:  Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti

Genre:  Fantasy adventure

Running Time:  127 minutes

1916: While the First World War rages in Europe, Dr Lily Houghton (Blunt) and her brother MacGrgeor (Whitehall) arrive in Brazil intending to head down the Amazon in search of the legendary "Tears of the Moon", which has the ability to cure illness, heal wounds and lift curses.  They hire steamboat captain Frank Wolff (Johnson), who conducts cut-rate jungle cruises for tourists, to ferry them down the Amazon.  Along the way they encounter various natural and supernatural threats, as they are pursued by the ruthless Prince Joachim (Plemons) who is determined to claim the Tears of the Moon for the German war effort.

Inspired by the popular Disneyland theme park ride, Jungle Cruise hearkens back to old school adventure films.  Mixing elements from Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, The African Queen (1951) and the Uncharted video game series, it is a mixed bag.  The story is pretty disposable and unoriginal, there is an over reliance on CGI effects, but it works due to the chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, both of whom are hugely charismatic and engaging performers.   Édgar Ramírez is buried under layers of CGI as an undead conquistador, but Jack Whitehall is funny as Lily's foppish posh brother.  It's a funny, charming film and there are some exciting sequences.  However it is overlong, and there is a lack of a strong villain.  It's the kind of film that in years to come will probably be a staple of bank holiday weekend TV.  It's certainly worth watching and enjoyable, but really nothing special.

  

Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise   

A Quiet Place Part II

 Year of Release:  2021

Director:  John Krasinski

Screenplay:  John Krasinski, based on characters created by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck

Starring:  Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski

Running Time:  97 minutes

Genre:  horror

The world has been decimated by a race of savage, predatory monsters which hunt by their acute sense of hearing.  Evelyn Abbott (Blunt), her deaf daughter Regan (Simmonds), son Marcus (Jupe) and newborn baby ferried in a soundproof cooler to muffle his cries, search for survivors and stumble upon a deserted factory, occupied by the bitter Emmett (Murphy) who doesn't trust others.  When Regan sneaks out to discover the source of a mysterious radio broadcast, Emmett reluctantly agrees to find her and bring her back, while Evelyn remains to take care of Marcus and the baby.

The original A Quiet Place was a sleeper hit 2018.  Aside from a lengthy prologue depicting the start of the invasion, the film picks up straight from the end of the first one.  Once again, the film makes use of a brilliantly simple premise, a world where any noise above the faintest whisper could mean death.  It was originally intended to be released in March 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed, and the film belongs in a cinema rather than on Blu-ray, DVD or a streaming service, because you get the big image and sound design.  It is full of tension and suspense.  It does deliver more of the same thrills from the first film, but it does expand the world more.  It's well paced, and writer, director, actor John Krasinski (best known as prankster Jim Halpert in the US series of The Office (2005-2013)) keeps things moving at a good place and wrings all the suspense out of each scene.  The performances are good with Millicent Simmonds and Cillian Murphy being particular standouts.  

      Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Emily Blunt in A Quiet Place Part II

 

Sicario

Year of Release:  2015
Director:  Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay:  Taylor Sheridan
Starring:  Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, Victor Garber
Running Time:  121 minutes
Genre:  crime, drama, action, thriller

This is a powerful crime thriller.  Following a raid on a suspected Mexican drug cartel's safehouse, young FBI agent Kate Marcer (Blunt) is recommended for a task force led by CIA agent Matt Graver (Brolin) and involving the ruthless and mysterious Alejandro (del Toro).  The task force's mission is to bring down the powerful cartel which owned the safehouse.  However, as the operation progresses, Kate becomes increasingly concerned about the task force's brutal tactics, and dubious morality.

There has been no shortage of gritty thrillers about drugs and guns on the Mexican-American border, but this is certainly one of the better ones.  It's a complex story that deals with the moral questions of the "War on Drugs", and how it has the potential to corrupt the very people whose job it is to protect, and the lines between the good guys and the bad guys are completely blurred here.  The title, "sicario", is Mexican for "hitman", and that applies both to the cartels and the task force assigned to bring them down.  

In the lead role Emily Blunt has too little to do, initially she is the audience surrogate, as the new person on the team she is there to get the situation and the mission explained to her/us.  However, she becomes the heart of the film.  She provides the film's humanity and moral compass, along with Daniel Kaluuya as Kate's protective partner and friend.  Benicio del Toro shines as the quietly terrifying Alejandro who is mostly quietly in the background until he snaps into action in truly shocking ways.

The pacing flags at times, and the story is a little shapeless, but this is well above the typical crime thriller and provides much food for thought.  The action scenes are well handled  and exciting.  It's a fascinating, and at times gripping thriller, and by the end it is devastating.

      Emily Blunt in Sicario

Looper

Year: 2012

Director: Rian Johnson
Screenplay: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels
Running Time: 118 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, thriller, time travel
In the year 2044 time travel is still thirty years aways from being a reality. However, mobsters in the future use the technology to send their victims back in time to 2044 where they are immediately executed by hit-men known as "Loopers". If a Looper survives long enough he too is sent back in time to 2044 to be killed by his younger self, this is called "closing the loop", and if a Looper fails to kill his future self for whatever reason then the consequences for both of them are severe. Joe (Gordon-Levitt) is a Looper and a drug addict who has ambitions for a better life in France. However, one day Joe discovers that it is his turn to close the loop when his future self (Willis) is sent back for him to kill. However the older Joe escapes and soon younger Joe is on his trail desperate to kill him and make things right. Joe's boss, Abe (Daniels), a gangster from the future living in the past, sends every man he has to dispose of both versions of Joe.
This is an intriguing time travel film which has a fascinating take on the idea of the the temporal paradox which has been a mainstay of time travel stories right from the start. There are obvious influences of The Terminator (1984) and 12 Monkeys (1996), which also starred Bruce Willis. The future Joe hopes to change the past to influence the future. There is also the intesting concept of how you would react if you came face to face with either your younger self or your older self. One of the key scenes in the film being a discussion between the future and the present versions of Joe in a diner, where the older Joe refuses to discuss the complexities of time travel on the grounds that it makes your head hurt. Another key scene occurs when another Looper doesn't kill his future self and ends up being captured and tortured. The torture is depicted as the future version runs, old scars start appearing, his facial features become increasingly disigured and limbs start disappearing and his personality starts changing as the memories of the torture begin to assert themselves.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with prosthetics to make him more convincing as a young Bruce Willis, carries the film with a great performance marrying toughness, cockiness and emerging sensitivity, while Bruce Willis is as lost and confused as he was in 12 Monkeys but this time with a horrible moral dilemma to contend with. Emily Blunt is also impressive as the young single mother on whose farm young Joe takes refuge.

This is a dark film with a shocking twist that probably very few mainstream film-makers would have the courage to pull off. It also features an impressive depiction of a depressing, post-economic crash, noirish world. With recent films such as Moon (2009), Inception (2010) and Source Code (2011), intelligent science-fiction is in great shape at the moment and this is one of the best examples of the genre.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis in Looper

The Adjustment Bureau

Year: 2011
Director: George Nolfi
Screenplay: George Nolfi, based on the short story "Adjustment Team" by Philip K. Dick
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp
Running Time: 105 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, fantasy, romance, thriller

Summary: New York City, 2006: David Norris (Damon) is a charismatic US congressman who has just lost the race for the US Senate, and is a popular choice to win. Just before giving his concession speech he meets an English ballerina, Elise (Blunt), and the two are instantly attracted. The meeting inspires Norris to give a more honest speech than he had been intending. The speech wins him a lot of support and marks him as an early favourite to win the 2010 Senate race.
Some time later Norris meets Elise again. However it soon becomes apparent that there are people who are determined to keep them seperate. Norris discovers the existence of the "Adjustment Bureau", an organisation of beings who appear identical to humans, but in reality are not, who secretly control human lives and destiny, according to a pre-determined plan. Norris discovers that humans only have the illusion of free will and that most important decisions that affect people's lives are the result of manipulation by the Adjustment Bureau. However, Norris and Elise were never intended to meet and their romance is seriously affecting the Adjustment Bureau's plans. In order to be with Elise, Norris must pit himself against a seemingly all-powerful organisation, whose operatives can be anywhere, who can manipulate anyone around them, who can predict the future and who are determined to keep them apart.

Opinions: Given the marketing and the fact that this is a film based on a story by legendary science-fiction author Philip K. Dick (whose works also inspired Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990) and Minority Report (2002) among many others) audiences could be forgiven for thinking that this would be another action-packed science-fiction thriller, in fact it is at least as much if not more of a romance than it is science-fiction. In fact it's difficult to see exactly what audience it is mainly aimed at. Viewers expecting a science-fiction thriller could probably be put off by the romance elements, while viewers wanting a romantic film might be put off by the science-fiction thriller elements. However, it could work as a good "date" movie if one person wanted to watch a thriller and the other a romance then this film would make for a good compromise. To be fair to the film, there is enough in it to keep both romantiphobes and sf-haters interested.
The movie is only very loosely based on Philip K. Dick's 1954 short story which was much more science-fiction oriented, and also had a lot more humour and had no romance elements in it at all. The story the film tells is interesting, but never quite manages to successfully blend together the genres of romance, science-fiction and thriller. A lot of interesting ideas come up, but never quite get developed. For example the Adjustment Bureau themselves are never quite explored, although it is hinted that they might be angels. Also, despite being epicted at times as being near-omnipotent they seems to have a habit of making mistakes (the whole mess is set off when one of them falls asleep on the job), added to that the fact that sometimes they manage to turn up anywhere, and other times they are seen running after buses and taxis. Additionally, they constantly worry about the disruptions caused by Norris and Elise's romance, and yet they seem to cause far more disruption by trying to prevent it. The members of the Bureau are ultimately depicted as bureaucrats, guys in suits who are not basically bad or malicious, they just have a job to do and procedures to follow.
The film is very well acted. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt make for likeable and engaging leads and they have a lot of on-screen chemistry. Terence Stamp also impresses in a fairly small role as a sinister member of the Bureau.
The film does have it's share of good scenes and there are some good ideas in it, even if it never quite comes together. It might also have been more interesting if some of the themes of the Adjustment Bureau's manipulation of individual lives and human destiny were explored in a bit more detail. Still it's an entertaining enough film, even if it doesn't serve up everything you might expect or want from it.



Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau

The Wolfman

Year: 2010
Director: Joe Johnston
Screenplay: Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self, from an original screenplay by Curt Siodmak
Stars: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving
Running Time: 103 minutes theatrical version and 119 minutes extended version
Genre: Horror, supernatural, thriller, monsters

Summary: In 1891, Lawrence Talbot (del Toro) is a successful Shakesperean actor on the London stage, until he is contacted by Gwen Conliffe (Blunt), his brother's fiancee, who informs him that his brother has been missing for a month. Reluctantly Lawrence returns to the family home of Talbot Hall in the village of Blackmoor, and to his estranged father, Sir John Talbot (Hopkins). On arrival Lawrence learns that his brother has been brutally killed and decides to stay until he can find out what happened to him. Treated by suspicion by the superstitious villagers, Talbot turns his investigation to the local gypsy camp when it is attacked by a vicious and powerful creature which severely wounds Lawrence. The wound heals surprisingly quickly. However at the next full moon, Lawrence undergoes a horrific transformation.

Opinions: This film is a loose remake of the 1941 movie The Wolf Man which is remembered as one of the best of the "Universal Horror" cycle released by Universal Studios during the 1930s and 1940s and produced such classics as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) before being reduced to farce in a series of movies usually featuring Abbott and Costello. This movie is not as effective as the original, but it does stand up well in it's own right. It has an atmospheric, gothic quality about it, which it maintains throughout even when it becomes a riot of CGI effects. Of course it features all the usual hallmarks of the werewolf movie, including a gruesome transformation scene (which still isn't a patch on the one in An American Werewolf in London (1981)) and plenty of annoying villagers played by the usual cast of vaguely recognisable British character actors who are so irritating that you're kind of rooting for the Wolfman to turn them into Puppy Chow. The central cast are effective, especially del Toro as the tormented Lawrence Talbot and Emily Blunt who does well with an underwritten part. Anthony Hopkins hams it up well as the creepy Sir John Talbot. The thing that the movie does lack is any kind of subtlety piling on gore, bizarre nightmare sequences and CGI creatures. It also takes it's time getting going. Interesting the movie was released in a 103 minute long version in cinemas but is also available in an extended 119 minute version. In the extended version there is an early scene which was not in the theatrical version where Gwen visits Lawrence backstage at the theatre, which creates a continuity error later on in the movie when there are repeated references to Gwen writing a letter to Lawrence instead of visiting him. The extended version also features an uncredited cameo by Max Von Sydow.
This is an enjoyable movie, and it is nice to see a real werewolf movie without vampires, for a change.