Aisle Seat Summer Reviews

August already?  Wow.  Where does the season go?

Hopefully you’ve had a chance to take in a few movies this summer.  The Aisle Seat did, and thought we should pass along thoughts on what’s hot and what’s not over the last month..

Deadpool & Wolverine

As much a clever comedy about corporate marketing as it is a superhero epic, this long awaited team-up/showdown/yuk fest between comic’s bad boys marks the official transition between 20th Century Fox’s Marvel films and their entrance under the Disney umbrella.  And with the green light to haul out every forgotten hero and villain alike – the team actually does, serving up one cameo appearance after another.

If you enjoy your superhero fare at a relentless pace, both in violence and potty humour, then consider ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ your Citizen Kane; it really doesn’t let up.  Of course, the key factor is the chemistry between leads Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman….but truthfully, the opening N-Sync inspired dance number as Deadpool mows down a bevy of bad guys is worth the price of admission alone.

Twisters

If anyone was questioning whether or not 1996’s ‘Twister’ needed a follow-up….and, to be honest, I was…..well, this special effects riddled popcorn charmer is here to erase your concerns.  Much like the original, the plot follows feuding teams of storm chasers, including the likes of ‘Maverick’s Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones from ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’, as they investigate an outbreak of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma.

If one were to get really, really nitpicky, they’d point out that, plot-wise, ‘Twisters’ pretty much follows ‘Twister’ to a twisting T.  The blueprint is eerily similar.  Yet, perhaps that’s part of the vintage vibe that makes for a cool sit.  Plus, the picture will undoubtedly seal the deal for making legit box office headliners in both Powell and Edgar-Jones….they’re THAT good.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Another sequel, and this one could very well be the best of the bunch.  Rarely has a franchise maintained such quality in both thought and execution, but what makes ‘Day One’ overly special, is that it masterfully keeps this series rolling without any link to the characters from the first two episodes.  A prequel, in which we get to experience the vicious aliens with supersonic hearing first invade our planet, this is as brilliantly unsettling and….surprise, surprise….beautiful as it gets.  It really is one to see on a big screen.

Inside Out 2

First off, is it as good as the original?  No.  Secondly…..what IS?  ‘Inside Out 2’ doesn’t stray far from the winsome formula that made its predecessor a winner…once again, we get a box seat to the emotions inside a little girl, only with a few years removed, she’s not so little anymore, and with the introduction of a new emotion – anxiety – well, yeah.  Suffice to say, it’s never NOT interesting.  If you have a heart…and I think we all do….it’s not hard to connect with this one.

Horizon: An American Saga

A passion project for writer/director/actor (and I’m pretty certain he cleaned up at the end of the night too) Kevin Costner, you can safely file this one under the not-as-bad-as-you’ve-heard category.  If only all westerns were as gloriously framed and passionately presented as this one.  Unfortunately, as a series of interweaving sub-plots set during the American West settlement of the pre-Civil War era, the pace is on par with a horse trot in reverse.  I love to see a good story unfold, but with a running time of well over three hours, it unfortunately unfolds slooooowlllly.  And this is only chapter one of four.  My behind is sore and numb already.