Unlikely Champions

Summer is technically over. Usually I would post a Summer Re-cap post which usually falls on October-ish (blame the weird movie schedules of Japan). I still have Star Trek Beyond and Jason Bourne to go. I intentionally skipped Ghostbusters though. But even right now I can already single out two champions for this summer. For the record, 'summer films' is a really broad term but I'd only like to include the studio films, so sorry Sing Street and other indie gems.

Runner up for the summer,
The Conjuring 2
I remember the first film as a very expertly-crafted piece of horror. However I did not remember it to bring something new and also engaging at the same time. It was good but never great. Nevertheless I'm really excited to see the second installment. And yes The Conjuring 2 delivers. It is far superior than the original while also showcasing James Wan's inimitable expertise on building tension and showing off horror money shots. Wan has so many moments in the film that might be bad in other director's hands. The cast is also great, headed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film has child actors better than those guys you see on the overrated Stranger Things. It's a great film and a great time at the movies. The Conjuring 2: rated 3.5/4


Champion of the summer,
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Yes it has a formulaic story but what happens with Popstar: NSNS is that the premise does not grow old. Great premise on comedy films usually makes the film barely standing to the end credits, like The Dictator, This is the End, and so many other films. Popstar is still standing tall and even wanting the audience to have more by the time the credits roll. Props to The Lonely Island crew for making a such engaging mockumentary, complete with 'interviews' with other singers and music industry faces. Andy Samberg is on his A-game here, usually he just comes off as annoying in some films but this is the role he's born to be. The cameos are all unexpected and great. And the songs are just so funny. Conner's 2nd single caught me off guard and I ended up laughing so hard at that sequence. There are so many other great comedic sequences in the film. The film also does not overstay its welcome as it is greatly edited and packed making it, bar none, the most entertaining summer film of the year and the funniest comedy I've seen for so long. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping: rated 4/4


Let's see if Star Trek Beyond could overtake the champion position after I finally watch it on October.
God that's so far away. But I boldly go. (stop. just stop).

Oh My Squad

I went to the Japanese premiere for Suicide Squad! Unplanned, but so happy. Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Karen Fukuhara were there and I was in the same room with them (see the next post for this one). But yes, Suicide Squad. I was so pumped for this film ever since the first Comic-Con preview was released a year ago. The cast looks great and I'm down for a David Ayer superhero pic. Even after the whole bad press on BvS, I'm still looking forward to this film. Then the reviews hit, so I was more cautious with my expectations. BvS was ruined for me because I had overwhelming expectations that the movie could be super great.

The story actually caught me off guard. I was expecting the film to be the Squad vs. the Joker, but then it turned out to be the Squad vs. The Enchantress and her character-wise highly underdeveloped brother Incubus. The Enchantress locked down another DC Comics' fictional city this time Midway City and for some reason Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince were too busy so it's up to the Squad to save the city.

Overall, the film was disappointing because the hype was too much for this film. The great cast was kind of undeserving for a film of this mediocrity (grammatically this sentence was baddd). Let's do the good parts first. Will Smith and Margot Robbie as Deadshot and Harley Quinn respectively were the only reason this film did not suck as it should be. The other characters were also very likable even though they are villains. The standout scene in the film belonged to Harley and Joker's scenes. The energy just lit up everytime they shared the scene. I believe that's it. The other parts were not downright bad but just so-so. Like the dossier sequence at the beginning was nice and fun but it felt like a character featurette you see on YouTube rather than on a finished film. There are so many things that could've worked better. We know Amanda Waller is a mean badass but a few lines and her shooting some random FBI guys don't define her as badass. I feel Viola Davis deserved better. The same goes for Jared Leto as the Joker. His scenes were too lacking, the film wouldn't be a lot different if he did not appear in the film at all.

Then comes the technical parts. The soundtrack felt like it was added randomly. Most particularly the classic songs. It came out of nowhere and didn't fit the visuals. The editing is another part to blame. Especially after hearing the rumors that this version we see in the theatres is a mix between a group of official editors and a trailer editing company. I mean in the main credits John Gilroy was credited but then if I'm not wrong there were another three people. Then comes the issue from the studio. I believe right now Warner Bros. is scratching their heads, like what should they do. I believe right now is to let the filmmakers do what they do. Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition turned out to be massively better without studio notes. And so would Suicide Squad, especially given that they have entrusted the property on a very talented director like David Ayer, even though he still needs some more hits because his films are mostly hits and misses right now (for every Fury we get Sabotage). Fans would still watch these movies but the general audience might give up if they keep on shelling out half-baked films like this. I really want this to have at least mixed reviews though. But this is downright embarrassing for all people involved in this film. Suicide Squad: rated 2/4.