A Pitt Stop

Bookending the film with what amounts to two climactic sequences, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (also known as The Conjuring 3), released this 2021, opens with what very well could have been the ending of a previous film. . . this moment becoming the genesis to push the story forward. For the first time not directed by James Wan (though he co-writes and produces), Michael Chaves takes up the mantle – doing a pretty seamless job. Expect the same intriguing over the head angles, spectral pov shots, long location tracking shots, and spooky camera pans. . . though it is definitely not as flashy as Wan, it does the trick.

For those of you who have seen (or will be seeing) James Wan’s new horror movie Malignant (2021), I think you’ll understand when I say I am of two mindsets when it comes to the entire piece. It has been five years since Wan has directed a film within the horror genre he has helped resurrect ‘from the dead’ – which might be a bit excessive, and Malignant might be his most divisive. Less scary and more ‘slashy’ than his more recent franchises of The Conjuring and Insidious, it carries with it a bizarre tone. . . part semi-traditional bloody horror film, part CSI melodrama (or is it spoof) – we are never quite sure if it is supposed to be tongue in cheek or taken seriously.

What do you get when you hand The Suicide Squad reins over (with carte blanche, I might add) to James Gunn.? .? .? an R rated, Guardians of the Galaxy-like extravaganza that dusts curse-laden comedy over the somber DC verse, throwing pails of blood (and even a few blink and you’ll miss it pieces of male and female anatomy) at the screen to wash away its predecessor’s flat formula. Going ‘out-there’, and that’s saying something for this type of feature, Gunn’s gonzo, go-for-broke style finds intelligence spook Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) sending two teams, or should I say squads, of suiciders onto the island of Corto Maltese – a country that has just seen a coup take out their leader, replaced by a non-American ally. Wave one finds Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman); daddy’s lil monster Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney); long haired Savant (Michael Rooker); piecemeal T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion); Blackguard (Pete Davidson); a javelin carrying guy who is aptly named Javelin (Flula Borg); and, without further ado, a human-flesh loving walking Weasel (Sean Gunn – he also makes a cameo as prisoner Calendar Man).

Picking up several years after the original feature, Don’t Breathe 2 (2021) flips the script, with co-writers Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues (though this time the latter takes over directing duties), placing the audience in the shoes of The Blind Man (rather than those who attempted to rob him in the genesis film). . . following him into a most intense scenario. In a wild, bold, and arguably controversial maneuver, Alvarez and Sayagues attempt to transform the sinister former veteran from the previous movie into something akin to an anti-hero – within the narrative, themes of rebirth and redemption can be found. Now a ‘father’ to his ‘daughter’, Phoenix – no subtlety there (Madelyn Grace), The Blind Man is now humanized with a real name, Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang). No spoilers on her backstory.

Let’s face it, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass (2019) was always going to find itself in a precarious position. Following arguably his second most lauded film, 2000's Unbreakable, and the unexpected hit sequel to it, 2016's Split, the movie could be considered as fragile as the title itself. For the most part panned by critics, yet more respected by its audience, over the past two or so years, it has become one of those love it or hate it type of features. And perhaps rightfully so, for it highlights both the best and worst of what Shyamalan has offered us over his decades long career – well planned out and most scrumptious visuals, his patented cameos, showing off the sights in and around his hometown of Philadelphia, talky dialogue, as well as those controversial third acts (including those hit or miss twists).

Upon viewing Ad Astra some two years after its initial release, it is not completely surprising that it was a failure at the box office. A film rooted in cinema of the sixties and seventies (you should notice connections to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Apocalypse Now), co-writer and director James Gray (Lost City of Z) takes his time building a familial drama set around space travel. Not the adrenaline rush that was Gravity, nor containing the outward scope of Interstellar, Gray’s story (which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross) looks inward at a man struggling with the bond he has with his father. This man is Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), a successful Major who has always lived in the shadow of his legendary father, H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones – perfect casting) – the man to lead the Lima Project to the outer reaches of our solar system (specifically Neptune) to do research on possible extraterrestrial life.