Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - A Marvel-ous animated adventure

 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman - 2018

★★★★★-I was more or less done with superhero flicks, but I kept hearing about how great this and the new one are. So here I am, back in the Marvel Extended Universe. And glad to be, as this film was great. 

Drawing inspiration from the "Spider-Verse" story arc and the debuts of Miles Morales in the Ultimate Marvel comics. Gist of the film is that Miles assumes the mantle of Spider-Man and joins forces with other Spider-People from parallel universes to protect his own reality from the villainous Kingpin, among other familiar foes. 

Computer-animated Marvel flick that follows the Miles Morales as Spider-Man storyline. Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman in their feature directorial debuts. Solid ensemble cast includes Shameik Moore as Morales, accompanied by the voices of Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber. 

Nothing but positive things to say. Soundtrack was dope. Really felt the going from public school and quietly killing it to struggling at private school. Though I wanted to be there. Smart, rich girls was indeed where it was at. Great depiction of a father-son relationship. Pretty beautiful really. 

I loved all the Spider “People”. I'd watch a short about each of them. One of my favorite things about the flick. 

Overall take: Great story. The art looks great. Well acted. What sets it apart is the skillful balance it strikes between embracing its source material and cleverly satirizing it. From the very start, viewers are drawn into an immersive world, filled with vibrant colors and thrilling adventures. Probably my favorite animated film I've seen since Coco back when it was in theaters. Can't wait to see the new one. 

Asteroid City - Wes Anderson - 2023

★★★★★-Since The Royal Tenenbaums, I've been all in on Wes Anderson, seeing every film opening weekend. He is one of maybe 10 directors who I'm going to make a spectacle of when they have a movie come out. Have I had a great seeing all of them? Fuck yeah, I have. Asteroid City is no exception, though I am not sure if I really understand it. 

The film is pretty complex in the way that The French Dispatch is complex. Where we get the story of a publication in The French Dispatch while we are also given some of the best stories to come out of that journalism, in this movie we are told about the production of a play, showing that play, and weaving other stories within them. 

This is what you call a metatextual approach, yeah, I went to grad school. First the movie gives us a broadcast of the story behind the play which segues into the first act which follows people as they arrive at a Junior Stargazer convention. Between acts, we are then given behind-the-scenes moments with the actors, director, writer, broadcaster, so forth, who are giving this production a life of its own while offering the audience (real [us viewing the movie] and imagined [the 1955 television viewer]) a glimpse into the creative process. Beyond this, not to give too much away, the film is really, deep down, a lighthearted search for meaning, complete with nuclear testing, alien encounters, and ray guns. And that is just within the play. 

Cast includes most of his usuals and some newcomers to his universe. They include: Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell (loved him in this, by the by), Hong Chau (she the front of house manager in The Menu), Margot Robbie, Matt Dillon, Hope Davis ( The Daytrippers, American Splendor), Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Rupert Friend (he's one of the stars of the show Homeland), Maya Hawke (nepo baby child of Ethan Hawke and Uma, she was in such flicks as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Fear Street Part One: 1994, Do Revenge, she also played the part of  Robin Buckley in Stranger Things), Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens (he's the white guy playing the Indian guy in Short Circuit, he's also in Succession), Tilda Swinton, Tony Revolori (he was the bellboy, the lead, in The Grand Budapest Hotel), Edward Norton (who looks pretty exactly like William Faulkner in this), Steve Park (he is probably most remembered for being the Asian guy on In Living Color, he was also in Do the Right Thing, Falling Down, Fargo, and The French Dispatch among other things. I suspect this might be a breakout role), and Jeffrey Wright. Also, a bunch of children, Anderson loves him some witty wiz kids. Among them, the main one, this kid Jake Ryan, is the most notable and is probably destined to be in all kinds of Wes Anderson future projects. Also, Sophia Lillis from It, and this Grace Edwards girl who plays ScarJo's daughter. 

I love a meta movie, and I love some Wes Anderson. This one is full of his signatures and feels like the culmination of his work. Not sure if I'll like it more or less with more viewings, but more viewings are definitely required. Didn't crack my top three Anderson movies, (The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums) but right now I'd put it at about four. We'll see if I feel better about it down the road.