Venom (2018) Makes Comic Book Movies Fun Again

Sony Pictures

Why so serious comic book genre? This is the big question that pops up in my mind over the intense division, even backlash, over Venom. Sony's latest attempt at their own comic book universe is an unexpected detour from the expected adaptations we've seen over the years, and reminds us of how the genre used to be: purely fun for fun's sakes. Venom's splash of action, sci-fi, and rom-com is not the most traditional story of its kind, and that works both for and against the film.

Humankind is depleting all of its natural resources. So much so that it's gonna need a better planet. Creator and inventor of the Life Foundation Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) uses his spaceships to bring back aliens known as symbiotes with the hopes of finding human hosts, but they’re deadlier and dangerous than even his multi-million dollar corporation ever planned for. Enter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), an investigative journalist who uncovers shady dealings with Drake’s corporation and inadvertently becomes the host of a violent symbiote called Venom. Forced to act as a hybrid, Eddie and Venom work together to take down the Life Foundation.

Venom is an absurd comic book movie that embraces how absurd it is, and honestly, the pure joy of the film comes out of its leading performance by Hardy. Already having a reputation for going all in for his characters, he makes no shift in changing his methods now, and here it really works – he’s not only playing Eddie but gives Venom his voice and comically, awkwardly, and believably acts like there’s an alien taking over his body - it's some of the best, and most importantly playful (and not method-esque performances) he’s ever given. As much as the film includes the typical CGI combat scenes between the two of them against Drake's cronies, there are a few set pieces of Eddie fighting his body's reaction to Venom's invasion and embracing Venom until they end up creating a weird bond of compromise and trust. Their arc from enemies to frenemies and friends is one of the best on-screen relationships to come along in a long time, especially in the "superhero" genre. It’s almost impossible to think that another actor could’ve carried the film as entertaining as he does.

Following behind Hardy is the supporting cast who aren’t “bad” in any sense of the word, but in comparison to Hardy don’t have as much to carry in terms of showy performances or transformations. Riz Ahmed as Drake is sort of your typical Marvel villain as a rich inventor who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, but Ahmed is charismatic and tries to rise above some of the cliche tropes his character has. More minor characters are filled in nicely: Jenny Slate as one of the few doctors who questions the lengths Drake is willing to go to; Celphas Jones as Eddie’s steely boss are fine the roles that they have; Reid Scott as a doctor who tries to help Eddie. The only casting that felt out-of-place was Michelle Williams as Eddie's girlfriend Anne; she's well-balanced as stuck between loving or leaving Eddie, but the chemistry between herself and Hardy didn’t quite gel - I had a hard time trying not to imagine someone else in the role.

Therein lies a small crux to Venom: it entirely rests on Hardy’s beefy shoulders. If his performance works for you, it’s guaranteed to be a good time; if it doesn’t, well, the whole film falls apart.

Ranking The A Star Is Born Remakes

The love between two artists surrounded in the midst of fame is a quintessential theme in cinema. But there's no other longstanding saga in Tinseltown than A Star Is Born: the tragic romance of a young starlet who is discovered by a legendary veteran; as the newbie's star ascends, the other one falls into oblivion. With the massive attention director Bradley Cooper's version is bringing to the older renditions, I thought it's the perfect time to rank the series from least favorite to favorite. Which A Star Is Born film is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!

First Man (2018) Shoots for the Moon But Misses

Universal Pictures

Most are probably familiar with Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission: the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union, the "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" quote, the iconic photo of Neil's footprints on the moon. Here for First Man, director Damien Chazelle explores a deeper, not widely known story, behind one of humankind’s biggest achievements.

Following the death of their toddler Karen, Neil (Ryan Gosling) and his family gradually set a course for him through trial and error to chart the famous Apollo 11 mission. While working his way up as a pilot and surviving the Gemini missions to landing on the moon, Armstrong’s eyes are so strongly set on the stars to deal with his grief, his relationship with wife Janet (Claire Foy) and their two sons starts falling apart at the seams.

One can’t have a biopic about Neil Armstrong without the Apollo 11, and vice versa. To tackle such an elusive figure with monumental events, it’s a real balancing act for any director to want to tell both stories. There's no question that Chazelle wanted to explore Armstrong's side of the events. However in focusing the film almost entirely from his perspective, the overall journey to the moon leaves a lot to be desired. 

Let's Go To There: Halloween Horror Nights 2018

Every autumn Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood transforms its theme parks under the cover of darkness into scare zones and themed houses. This year, Stranger Things, Poltergeist, Halloween 4, and The Purge were just some of the iconic movies and shows to arrive at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort.

To be honest, I'm not an avid horror fan, but I like the occasional scare. When my sister and I saw the line-up of houses for this year's HHN, we cast our fears aside to celebrate Halloween a little differently this year. Because it caters to all kinds of fans (mostly 18+) who love to get more than a little freaked out, the event turned out to be perfect for me and my sister to attend.

Fourth's Time The Charm for A Star Is Born (2018)

Warner Bros Pictures

Every twenty years Hollywood has reinvented A Star Is Born, a seemingly timeless story where a veteran star’s fame declines as he falls in love with a newcomer who rises to the top. From earning standing ovations at film festivals around the world to epic word-of-mouth on social media, director Bradley Cooper and his co-star Lady Gaga has earned acclaim for his directorial debut with the reboot of a tragic Hollywood fairytale. With so much hype surrounding the musical-drama-romance, the fourth A Star Is Born remake not only lives up to the hype but worth all its weight in gold and then some.

I don't consider this review full of spoilers, but if you're not familiar with the full A Star Is Born plot, it might be spoilerish. 

Stars I Love: Dakota Johnson

Dakota-Johnson Nino-Muñoz Glamour UK March-2017

At first glance, Dakota Johnson has become recognizable as the face of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy and the granddaughter to Hollywood legend Tippi Hedren and daughter to Melanie Griffith. Though these are easy facts to Google about her skyrocket to stardom over the past few years, Johnson has managed to take Hollywood by storm on her own terms that defies expectations.

Despite her direct connection to Tinseltown through her family, Johnson got her start in movies and tv like other break-out stars. Working her way up the ladder, she posed in Got Milk? commercials as a child alongside her mother and siblings to later becoming an awards presenter at the Golden Globes. After failing to get into Juliard with a Radiohead-inspired audition, she started earning small parts in movies. From the Academy-Award nominated The Social Network to rom-coms like Date and Switch and The Five Year Engagement (she even had a stint on The Office in its eleventh hour), she created a small variety of characters that showed off her comedic and dramatic side.

And then came the role of a lifetime....

Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Trailer Reaction

Fifty-four years ago Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke starred in the timeless Disney classic Mary Poppins. Now set for her own sequel in an all-new adventure starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the classic magical nanny returns to check up on the Banks children going through struggles of their own as parents and help them believe in the impossible again.

Disney recently dropped the official trailer AND supercalifragilistic does it look like my Christmas is going to be a 1000x full of feels than it usually is. Let's check it out!