Tag Archives: Tenet

Sep 28 2020

The MCU Drought

 

Disney and Marvel Studios threw in the towel a few days ago when it came to releasing any films in 2020: Black Widow was bumped out of its slated November release date into next year. This created a domino effect in that all other scheduled MCU films were pushed back, in some cases to 2022. For the first time since 2009, a year will pass without any offerings from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Face it folks, we are in an MCU drought.

This is quite a downer and is completely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how irresponsible many people have been (wear the damn mask already!). Of course, this is simply a First World complaint and pales to other more serious plights going on, but the lack of an MCU film for fans to enjoy is just more proof that the pandemic has uprooted our lives.

At this rate, who knows when things will go back to “normal” or if it is even possible. If this keeps up will any high profile film be released in theaters next year? It is understandable that film studios are hesitant to release films in theaters under current circumstances, even though some theaters are now open. The problem is that even if every theater re-opened, many people would be hesitant to go attend them, not with COVID-19 lurking around. Sure, some would not have a problem but any released film will not earn its full potential at the box office. Take Tenet as an example. At one point, it was one of the most eagerly anticipated films and thought to be the one film to herald a return to the movies after the pandemic ended. Only the pandemic did not end and the film was shuffled around almost as much as The New Mutants. In the end, Tenet turned out to be a box office disappointment. Even though it has earned over $200 million that pales to what was once expected of Tenet.

As for The New Mutants, the fact that it was eventually released is a small miracle and oddly enough wound up being the sole film released in 2020 that was based on a Marvel Comics property, though it clearly was not set in the MCU. Also worth mentioning is that fans already had a property released this year that was set in the MCU…sort of. That was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Whether or not that TV show was considered part of the MCU is open for debate but on paper it was. Another Marvel property coming to the small screens in a few weeks is the Helstrom TV show which will debut on Hulu, though it is not marketed as a Marvel property.  With all that said, keep in mind fans of the MCU will have at least something for 2020 to get through the MCU drought and that is the upcoming WandaVision TV show on Disney+ later in 2020.

WandaVision may be a consolation prize, but judging from its trippy trailer it promises to be a wildly imaginative treat for MCU fans with its bizarre imagery of a 1950s Middle American TV landscape that morphs into more modern sitcoms. Hopefully, WandaVision will be as mind bending and thought provoking as Legion, but with an added bonus that it’s set in the MCU and is a vital cog that lines up with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

But even though WandaVision is supposed to come out in 2020, Disney+ still has not said when it will stream. It is believed to be in December but certainly after the second season of The Mandalorian has finished its run. It’s just too bad that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was not completed enough for it to have streamed this year on Disney+ as originally planned. But at least we know that WandaVision is still on track to come out later in the year.

Yes, the MCU is in a drought but this will not last forever. The pandemic will pass. Theaters will re-open fully and be safe to attend. There will be plenty of MCU fare coming our way. Next year promises four MCU films (Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and a new Spider-Man film) along with two Sony films, Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which are now rumored to be part of the MCU. Plus, Marvel Studios and Disney+ promised there will be more MCU shows streaming in 2021, starting with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and then Loki and What If…

So, before long, we will have so many plum offerings to make up for our current MCU drought. Hang in there, be patient and wear your mask!

 

 

Sep 5 2020

Time Runs Out For A Convoluted Tenet

Tenet is the latest film from director Christopher Nolan, which finally debuted at the tail end of the 2020 summer movie season; if one wants to say this summer has had a movie season because of the coronavirus pandemic. Tenet was heralded as Nolan’s grand epic, this year’s most anticipated film, the one that would salvage the summer movie season. Well, unfortunately, the film falls short of such aspirations.

This does not mean that Tenet is a disaster or a poorly made film. No, actually it is an ambitious film with high-end production values and the acting is generally good. The latter is due to the strength of the film’s lead John David Washington who is simply known as the Protagonist. The fact that Nolan could not be bothered to give the main character a name indicates one fo the problem with Tenet. The film is technically well crafted, but it lacks an emotional soul. This has been a flaw with some of Christopher Nolan’s other films, but in this instance, the issue overtakes the film. It is difficult to care about what is going on in the film even though there are high stakes in its meandering plot.

Christopher Nolan’s new film is a spy thriller with an Inception-inspired sci-fi angle. The Protagonist is a CIA agent who is recruited to prevent a world war and is involved with nefarious arms dealers and a secret organization called Tenet. During his mission, the Protagonist learns of bullets and other objects that run backwards in time due to a process called “inversion,” which means that if he tries to fire a gun with inversion bullets, from his point of view the bullets are already fired and fly back into the barrel of the gun. He learns the bullets came from a Russian arms dealer called Sator (Kenneth Branagh) who is gathering intel from the future and wants to create a doomsday event using artifacts that are inverted in time. Along the way, the Protagonist travels throughout Europe and Asia and finds himself operating backwards in time; in many instances revisting scenes from earlier in the film from a new viewpoint.

If this sounds confusing, you are not alone. Nolan is so enamored with having scenes play backwards throughout the film and trying to be too smart for the film’s own good. The result is a film with a disjointed nature that only add to the convoluted nature of the film’s plot. You have to pay very special attention to the film and frankly, watching Tenet several times is necessary in order to fully grasp it. The problem here is that the film is not engaging enough to make you want to bother watching it all over again (the film is nearly two and a half hours). The visuals are impressive and up to par with what Nolan has delivered in the past, but the inversion scenes quickly feel gimmicky. By the time, we get to the film’s climax, the entire viewing experience is just underwhelming and disappointing despite the film’s technical wizardry.

What makes matters worse is that the sound mixing is shockingly poor and leaves much of the dialogue difficult to hear. Most attempts to explain the convoluted and complex plot or how inversion works are garbled and spoken very quickly or too low from characters, which makes following the polt a chore. Unlike Inception where the process of entering people’s dreams was not important, Tenet demands a sound explanation of how inversion works in order to understand what is going on, but Tenet fails in this aspect.

Who knows? Maybe a third or fourth viewing of Tenet may improve it, but a film has to engage you from the initial watch to make you want to revisit it again. Tenet only calls for it just to watch the well-crafted visuals of inverted fights and car chases. But doing that will be easier and more rewarding when watching it at home instead of theaters. At least from your device or TV you can skip over the plodding and convoluted first half of the film and get right into the off-kilter action scenes.

Aug 5 2020

The Captivation Of Inception

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi classic film Inception continues to enthrall viewers ten years after its release in theaters (remember those?) in the summer of 2010.

When Inception was first teased, many were as intrigued by it as they are by Nolan’s upcoming film Tenet because the former film was so mysterious. The only thing shown to potential ticket buyers were images of people fighting in low-gravity conditions, cityscapes twisting and bending, and vague dialogue about dreams. This, along with Nolan’s filmmaking credentials, was enough to lure people into theaters and many were not disappointed by what they saw.

Inception stood out as a sci-fi actioner not just because of its mesmerizing visuals but for its complex plotline. For anyone who has not seen the film yet, the film starred Leonard DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a corporate spy/thief whose specialty is to go into people’s minds while they’re dreaming and steal trade secrets or implanting suggestions. How this is done was not explained but Cobb and his team used a device that allowed them to enter the dreamscape of others. It was not important; what was notable was Cobb’s personal story and how he pulled off his latest and intricate caper.

Cobb was haunted by the death of his wife who was lost in the dreamworld and is desperate to return to the United States and reunite with his children. To do this, he has to complete one final mission, which is to enter the mind of his client’s corporate rival and influence him to break up his vast corporate empire.

The film spent a lot of time with explaining how Cobb and his team would enter their target’s mind and it involved going into dreams within dreams. Admittedly, this was quite complex and demanded careful attention, yet it made sense and was quite exciting. There were many complications as Cobb’s team stayed one step ahead of their foes. This involved perfectly executed car chases, stunts and an unforgettable fight scene in a hotel hallway between Cobb’s right hand man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a henchman that had them literally crawling along walls and defying gravity. This occurred because the dreamer at that moment was falling…don’t ask, it still looked great and this type of fight has been copied by other films and TV shows.

Other visual standouts were sequences where entire city blocks twisted upwards into sky as Dom Cobb explained how to navigate the dreamscape to his protegee, Ariadne (Ellen Page). Of course, this feat would be duplicated years later in Doctor Strange. This demonstrates how influential and revolutionary Inception was for its time. In some ways, the visual tricks it pulled off were the next step to those seen in The Matrix.

One reason as to why Inception was so captivating was the brilliant, Oscar-winning cinematography by Wally Pfister. It was best appreciated when seen on a large movie screen or better yet an IMAX screen. Another was the pounding music by Hans Zimmer, which was one of the composer’s best film scores.

As many wait for Christopher Nolan’s next film Tenet to come out, Inception will be re-released to pump up theater goers for Tenet and to herald the reopening of theaters. Of course, this will be muted because the coronavirus is still spreading and will probably keep most theaters closed at least in the United States. Be that as it may, no other film is better suited to be a companion piece to Tenet (from what we’ve seen in the trailers) as is Inception.

Jan 7 2020

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020

As we settle into the new year it’s that time to look ahead for what films await us in 2020. A quick look will show that the superheroes will be taking a breather on the big screen along with some of the more notable franchises. Still, there are plenty of promising offerings for this year. As before keep in mind that not all of the films will actually be released in 2020 or on the dates listed below, and some of them will turn out to be disappointments, while something that may not even make it into the other mention list will turn out to be tomorrow’s classic.

10. Black Widow (May 1):

Finally! Black Widow gets her own overdue solo film, but is it too late? The first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MC) Phase Four offers the MCU take on spy thrillers that is obviously a flashback/prequel film (no spoilers for anyone who has not seen Avengers: Endgame).

Tomorrow war

9. The Tomorrow War (December 25):

Chris Pratt stars as a soldier in a future war against aliens. The catch is that humanity is forced to recruit soldiers from the past to win the war. If this is anything like the classic Edge of Tomorrow then genre fans are in for treat.

8. Antebellum (April 24):

Very little is known about this horror thriller from the producers of Get Out and Us. It has something to do with a writer trapped in between our reality and one during the period before the Civil War. But their credentials and the disturbing and mysterious imagery shown in the trailer make this film a must see.

7. Free Guy (July 3):

Think of this film as a live-action Wreck-It Ralph, sort of. Ryan Reynolds stars as a Non-Playable Character (NPC) in a Fortnite-like video game who evolves beyond his programming. Now aware of his limited existence, the NPC decides to take a more proactive role in his virtual world and become the hero.

6. Wonder Woman 1984 (June 5):

Gal Gadot returns as the titular Amazonian warrior in this sequel that takes place in the 1980s. The more modern setting juxtaposed with Wonder Woman’s heroics are refreshingly different from Wonder Woman’s grim World War I backdrop. Another plus is that the previous film’s humor and kinetic superheroic action will continue in this sequel.

5. BIOS (October 2):

Tom Hanks stars as a dying scientist and the last person on Earth who builds a robot companion for his dog and the trio embark on a journey where the robot has to learn to be more “human”. Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik helms this sci-fi film which combines the retrospective nature of Hanks’ classic Cast Away with high adventure.

4. Godzilla vs. Kong (November 20):

The epic showdown between two of the biggest and most famous kaijus takes place in the fourth Monsterverse film. Many have complained about the previous film’s (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) poorly defined characters and plot, but many others cheered the jaw-dropping visual treats of giant monsters battling to the death. Hopefully, the latest Monsterverse film will deliver more of this to fans.

3. A Quiet Place, Part II (March 20):

The first film about a family surviving in a world overrun by lethal aliens was a chilling and tense surprise thanks to John Krasinski’s (who also starred) masterful direction. A Quiet Place, Part II continues the journey of the family from the first film as they venture beyond their home to the outside world and learn they don’t only have the aliens to worry about.

2. Dune (December 18):

Acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve, having won accolades for his work on Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, gives us his take on the most revered sci-fi novel of all time. This version of Dune promises to be more faithful to the source novel than the David Lynch film from the 1980s. Already boasting an impressive cast, expect Dune to be lavishly presented with exceptional production values and effects. Also note that this version of Dune will only cover the first half of the novel, which is about a young messianic figure’s trials on a desert world in the far future, whose actions will reshape the universe.

1. Tenet (July 17):

Director Christopher Nolan’s newest film is clouded in secrecy but appears to be a high-octane spy thriller about preventing World War III. Tenet stands out from say another James Bond or Jason Bourne thriller by being laced with disorienting and not-so-subtle twists in the vein of Inception.

In fact, some are already speculating Tenet could be a sequel or spinoff to Inception only this time the emphasis is on time. Even without the off-key imagery of time flowing backwards in several spots, Tenet looks like another provocative, mind-bending action-packed fest from the auteur.

Other Upcoming Films:

 Bill and Ted Face the Music (August 21): The Wild Stallyns are back in another goofy time travel adventure; Bloodshot (March 13): Vin Diesel stars in the first live-action Valiant superhero film about a mercenary with nanite blood; Eternals (November 6): The other MCU film coming out this year will showcase the history of the MCU spanning millennium and characters; Ghostbusters: Afterlife (July 10): A new take on Ghostbusters which hopes to recapture the nostalgia for the original films; The Invisible Man (February 28): Elizabeth Moss portrays a woman haunted by her supposedly dead abusive lover who is actually alive and invisible;

Malignant (August 14): Writer and director James Wan adapts his graphic novel about a man with an alien tumor that gives him superpowers;  Morbius (July 31): Sony brings to life another Spider-Man villain turned anti-hero; The New Mutants (April 3): Just when we thought the final Fox X-Men film was dead and buried, we find out it will actually be released; Onward (March 6): The first Pixar film of the decade features two elves who are brothers that set out on a trip to revive their dead father; Raya and the Last Dragon (November 25): In this Disney animated film, a warrior searches for the last dragon; Samaritan (December 11): Sylvester Stallone stars as a long-lost superhero;  Sonic the Hedgehog (February 14); Internet rage changed the look of the popular video game character, now it’s up in the air if the film will actually be good;  Soul (June 19): The second Pixar animated release features a new soul who discovers the afterlife; Venom 2 (October 2): Tom Hardy returns in the sequel to the surprise superhero hit about the anti-heroic alien symbiote; Underwater (January 10): Scientists are trapped on the ocean floor and are preyed upon by mysterious creatures; The Witches (October 9): Robert Zemeckis directs this adaptation of the Roald Dahl fantasy book; After Yang (TBD); A father and his daughter try to save her robotic nanny; Stowaway (TBD): This variation of “The Cold Equations” takes place on a journey to Mars;  Voyagers (TBD): Reportedly this film is marketed as Lord of the Flies in space.