Wrath of Man

The fourth collaboration between director Guy Ritchie and actor Jason Statham, and the first time in 16 years, Wrath of Man is an action thriller that is reminiscent of Ritchie's past crime films but having a much darker and serious tone and with no big comedic moments and dialogue. Initially told in a linear style, there are moments wherein it goes into a past event before then going back to the present so as to better explain the story and the characters. Statham plays Hargreaves, the head of a crime syndicate whose son gets killed by armored truck thieves due to being a witness. After he's unable to find the thieves involved through attacking other crime organizations, Hargreaves realizes that the attack on the armored truck was an inside job. Thus he changes his identity so as to get hired at the same armored truck company from which he suspects someone may be in league with the criminals that killed his son. All the while, we see what the armored truck thieves' lives are like, all of them from the same military platoon and discontent over their lives after the fighting, eventually getting into robbing armored trucks. Jeffrey Donovan plays the leader of the thieves, while Scott Eastwood is the hotheaded Jan and Holt McCallany is the mole in the company. After months of Hargreaves on the job, which includes an attempt to rob a truck by another group of thieves that he took down by himself, and the platoon planning to steal from the truck facility itself, it all culminates in a violent and bloody shootout. While the story itself isn't entirely new, being a remake of a 2004 French, it does tell its story really well and Ritchie's use of flashbacks does make it stand out from many crime films. There are moments in the beginning that you start to question but are answered clearly through the flashbacks. They never feel forced and come in during a scene that is much slower then what came just before and then coming back just at the right moment. The performances from Statham, Donovan, Eastwood, McCallany and everyone else are all well done and strong. One issue being how composed Hargreaves is when on the armored truck job even when they're being hijacked. Sure, he took down thieves with ease and some backed away when they saw his face, but most of his coworkers should be more weary of him but act like its completely normal. Statham is great and his motivations are understandable, but when he gets the truck job he should have given him more personality so as to avoid suspicion. The score from Christopher Benstead and Alan Stewart's cinematography aren't anything too exciting but they're perfect for such a gritty and violent movie. By and by, Wrath of Man is a standard crime film but is a lot more thanks to Ritchie's direction, the performances, and how it tells its story. Over all: 92%

2021 top list so far:

1. Nobody

2. Raya and the Last Dragon

3. Wrath of Man

Shang-Chi (2020-2021) #1 (of 5): Brothers & Sisters Part One

With a new movie coming out, it only makes sense that Marvel would reboot its Shang-Chi character with a five issue miniseries. Shang-Chi (2020-2021) #1 (of 5): Brothers & Sisters Part One sees the Master of Kung Fu and Bruce Lee inspired martial artist wanting to lead a normal life in San Francisco's Chinatown. After the death of his father, the head of an evil secret society, he is attacked by those who see him as a threat against their right to lead it. With the help of Leiko, a former love interest and MI-6 spy, and his half-siblings, Brother Sabre and Sister Dagger, they will take on Sister Hammer to take back the Five Weapons Society. Even though Shang-Chi has had a long history with Marvel since 1973, this issue manages to give enough information to understand his past while not giving too much so as to confuse any new to him. Writer Gene Luen Yang crafts out a remarkable first issue that sets up an epic storyline with great mix of drama and action. Though it is often over bloated by the characters' dialogue and exposition filling up many of the pages and panels. The artwork by Philip Tan and Dike Ruan with coloring by Sebastian Cheng is incredible with great detail and fitting in well with the the story it conveys. One particular thing is the beginning of the comic, set hundreds of years earlier in China, has a slightly different style than the present, being more like watercolor. Though there are times when certain things like people's faces aren't even drawn at all even when they're not far away. The most notable part of the issue is that the first page has a tribute dedicated to Chadwick Boseman from Marvel writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, which may seem odd for a Shang-Chi comic but then remember that it was Black Panther's success that lead to the character having his own movie made. Originally made to capitalize on Bruce Lee's success and often resembling a stereotypical Asian character of the time with Fu Manchu as his father, Shang-Chi (2020-2021) #1 (of 5): Brothers & Sisters Part One manages to modernize him but without taking away what made him such an amazing character and begin a new and interesting storyline. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:
1. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers FCBD 2018 Shattered Grid Special

2. Free Comic Book Day 2018: 2000 A.D. Regened

2. DC Universe: Legacies #1

3. Free Comic Book Day 2017 I Hate Image

4. Shang-Chi (2020-2021) #1 (of 5): Brothers & Sisters Part One

5. Champions (2020-) #1

6. Infinite Frontier (2021) #0

7. Green Lantern Vol. 2 #76

8. DC Retroactive: Green Lantern - The 70s #1

9. Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020-) #1
10. Showcase (1956-1978) #17
11. Werewolf By Night (2020-) #1 (of 4)

12. Free Comic Book Day: Bongo Comics Free For All 2018
13. Free Comic Book Day 2017: Riverdale
14. Marvel Comics (1939) #1

Nobody

Producer David Leitch, writer Derek Kolstad, and stunt performer Daniel Bernhardt all previously worked together on the first John Wick movie. Now with Nobody, they've teamed up once again for another revenge action thriller, though with a much more comedic take. Bob Odenkirk, not known for being in action films, stars as Hutch Mansell, a seemingly ordinary family man whose past is revealed after a home invasion leads him to try to find his daughter's bracelet. What ensues is a bus fight wherein a Russian drug lord's brother ends up in a coma, Hutch revealed to be a government assassin and his father was in the FBI, and a final shootout at a metal factory wherein Hutch sets up elaborate traps and fights alongside his father and half brother, played by Christopher Lloyd and RZA. While having the same sensibilities and methods as the Wick films, such as their use of ordinary looking protagonists having a secret and dangerous past and intense action sequences and stunts that keep the camera on what's going on without over editing, there's much more use of humor over how ridiculous these stories can be. Unlike Wick, whenever Hutch gets into a fight he's not as indestructible and tends to fumble early in the movie due to being out of the game so long. But while Odenkirk does a fantastic job with not only the performances and the action scenes, it's Lloyd who steals the show. Being in his early 80s, Lloyd not only proves how great of an actor he's been since the mid-'70s but also shows how believable he is at shooting guns and kicking ass. Of course one must give big credit towards director Ilya Naishuller whose no stranger towards high octane action thanks to his previous work on Hardcore Henry. His direction makes it so that the action is well done but in such a way that is often unexpected in the approach. Nobody is such a fun and engaging movie that helps in asking what would happen if the John Wick movies were filled with more humor. Over all: 100%

2021 top list so far:

1. Nobody

2. Raya and the Last Dragon

Raya and the Last Dragon

Inspired by Southeast Asian cultures, aesthetics, and mythologies, Raya and the Last Dragon is Disney's latest in its animated film slot. Set in a land known as Kumandra that's in the shape of a dragon, its people live in different tribes in certain parts that define a dragon's features like the heart, spine, claw, talon and tail. In its past the people were protected by magical dragons who sacrificed themselves to defeat demons known as the Druun, with a gem left behind to ensure they would never return. 500 years later, with Heart keeping the gem, an attempt by the other tribes to take it causes the gem to break and bring back the Druun. Feeling responsible, Raya, the daughter of Heart's chief, sets out to find the pieces and seek out Sisu, the last surviving dragon, to defeat the demons. Along the way, Raya and Sisu get help from other people from the different tribes and not only manage to defeat the Druun, but are also able to bring the tribes together and resurrect the other dragons. This isn't Disney's first foray into Asian culture, as Mulan proves, but unlike with that movie, Raya does have a mostly all Asian cast voicing their characters like Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong, and Daniel Dae Kim. One drawback, however, being that many of its cast aren't from or don't have any ancestry from Southeast Asia. Regardless, all of the actors involve all do a remarkable job, especially the chemistry between Tran's Raya and Awkwafina's Sisu. The story for the film may not be entirely new, but it takes itself very seriously and is told in such a fun and engaging way. Its theme, especially at the end, of how unity can bring people together and can help defeat their inner demons is well done and is very well earned. As usual for Disney, the animation is spectacular, but not just how visually stunning it is but the combination of expressive faces and brisk fight choreography really knocks it out of the park. The writing is fun, but there are many times when characters would use modern day slang that often feels forced and doesn't fit the setting. There's also the word "binturi" that often gets repeated multiple times and described at someone, the problem being that they never explain what it means and is said way too many times. So despite these few flaws, Raya and the Last Dragon is still a wonderful and deserving entry in Disney's animated canon that no doubt will be seen as important as Mulan is. Over all: 96%

2021 top list so far:

1. Raya and the Last Dragon

Us Again

Released with and shown before Raya and the Last Dragon, Us Again is a Disney short relying more on music and movement than dialogue. Set in New York City wherein its people love to dance, the short focuses on an old married couple who used to be very active when they were younger. Art, the husband, has become grumpy in his old age and would rather just watch television while his wife, Dot, tries to get him moving again. When the two go outside in the rain, the water causes them to regress to their young age and soon begin to dance like they did once. As the clouds and rain move, Art desperately tries to get them under to remain young but once he can't reach it realizes that despite their youth being long gone they can still enjoy being with each other. The level of detail that this short has is astounding, which is what one always expects from Disney when it comes to animation. If anything best emphasizes the use of visual storytelling rather than over-expository dialogue, Us Again is one of the top projects to do so thanks to the music, by Pinar Toprak, and choreography. Just by looking at Art and Dot's movements, pictures of their younger days, and their emotions is enough. The dancing especially is flawless as each character dances in their own specific way that often explains who they are. Us Again's one problem is that it's a short film since this could work as a feature length film exploring more of Art and Don's time together.