Till Is A Gut-Wrenching Historical Drama That's Driven By Danielle Deadwyler's Commanding Performance

      When it comes to bringing significant historical events to the big screen, the key to doing so and making them effective is the approach that each respective filmmaker takes in retelling their stories. The story of Emmet Till is one that carries heavy weight in showing how a horrific tragedy that left a young mother without a child, ultimately became the catalyst for change. While it's a profoundly moving story that serves as being a painful reminder of America's troubled past, it also speaks to the systemic racism that plagues American society in present day. With Till, the filmmakers make the bold choice of reframing story through the eyes of his mother, Mamie Till-Bradley with Emmet's murder being shown through her perspective. The end result is an emotionally absorbing and haunting drama that's well-executed and brilliantly acted.

      Based on true events, Till tells the story of Mamie-Till-Mobley's relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year old son, Emmet Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. Emmet's story is significant in how it helped spark the birth of the civil rights movement. Such a profoundly heartbreaking story demands the full dedication of those involved in bringing it to the screen in the most effective way possible. Thankfully that's the case here as Till's story is handled with a tremendous amount of care and filmed with a clear eye on not just revisiting such a horrific tragedy that played a significant role in reshaping American history, but also giving it a timely relevance in the era of George Floyd. While it finds itself being uncomfortable viewing at times, Till remains focused on its intent of showing a mother's grief and her continued push to seek justice which sadly never emerged.

      It can be said that much of Till's power comes from the devotion put forth by its cast, particularly Danielle Deadwyler's remarkable performance as Mamie-Till. She masterfully conveys a mother's shock, heartbreak, and anger over her son's murder, as well as the lack of accountability towards those responsible for his lynching. While the rest of the casts performances are good, it's Deadwyler's work that drives the film and is what connects the audience to the tragedy of Till's murder. Despite his role being brief for obvious reasons, Jalyn Hall impresses as Emmett with his performance adding to the devastation the audience feels upon witnessing his murder. His scenes with Deadwyler are undoubtedly touching with both truly feeling like they're mother and son. Other noteworthy performances include Frankie Faison as Mamie's father John Carthan, Haley Bennett as southern shopkeeper Carolyn Bryant, whose accusations led directly to Emmett's murder, Whoopi Goldberg as Mamie's mother Alma Carthan, Jayme Lawson as Jayme Lawson as Civil Rights activist Myrlie Every with Toslin Cole as her husband and activist Medgar Evers, and Sean Patrick Thomas as Mamie's husband, Gene Mobley.

      Till's directing by Chinonye Chulwu is commendable with how she's able to recreate the mood and and atmosphere of 1955 Mississippi. The costume and set designs appropriately fit the stories era with composer Abel Korzeniowski crafting a deeply haunting and emotional score that's both equally crushing and hopeful. At 2 hours and 10 minutes, Till moves slow but never feels boring with the audience becoming immersed in the story. In depicting Emmet's brutal murder, Chulwu only goes as far as showing the kidnapping of Till by his murderers while leaving the rest up to imagination with only showing the barn where he was tortured from a distance with sounds implying the beating. The disfigurement of Till's body is shown in brief glimpses that enhance the murders shock factor, along with presenting some of the films most powerful moments regarding Deadwyler's phenomenal performance. As a whole, Chulwu does a fine job of transporting audiences back, while giving the cast complete freedom to deliver the best performances possible.

      Reframing Emmet's murder and telling it through the perspective of Mamie-Till adds a tremendous amount of weight to the film with her character going from being a regular mother to becoming a civil rights activist, who made America confront her son's horrifying murder. This is evident by her characters powerful speech at the end where she acknowledges that she went from being someone who didn't pay much attention to other racially motivated murders happening to galvanizing the civil rights movement with her declaring: "What happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of all of us." The script does a masterful job of establishing the relationship between Emmet and his mother in the films first act, while laying out the sequence of events that leading up to Till's murder such as his encounter with Carolyn Bryant at the grocery store and the warnings he received from his cousins (His mother included) about not intimidating whites. The film comes with shocking revelations regarding the case such as the appalling attitude that Mamie received during the trial, or the discovery that Mamie's uncle Mose actually had a gun in their home when Emmet was abducted, but didn't do anything out of fear that his own family would be harmed along with retaliation occuring towards blacks in Mississippi. 

      Overall, Till's script does a fantastic job of retelling an emotionally devastating story of a mother's transformation into a fighter for justice while doing so in a way that's informative. Not everyone will embrace it as its subject matter will prove to be unsettling for many, but Till's story is one that commands to be seen at least once to understand the full grasp of a tragedy that undoubtedly became a cry for change. It's a shame that such an important message that was admirably well-told was completely shunned by the Academy as Danielle Deadwyler's incredible performance  deserved better.

Final Verdict: See it but be prepared to be disturbed, angered, and ultimately moved by the experience. 

Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Delivers Standard MCU Fun Despite Being The Series Weakest Installment Yet

      A new phase has begun for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Avengers: Endgame brought a triumphant finish to the first three phases of the MCU, the universe has found itself continuing to expand the Avengers timeline with rather uneven results. Besides some notably strong entries including Spider-Man: No Way Home, the underappreciated Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel's phase 4 has largely been viewed as being a step down in terms of quality. With Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, the hope for it is to begin Phase 5 strong while introducing a new kind of world conquering villain that'll raise the stakes in upcoming films. In that regard, the film fulfills its main goal and provides Marvel fans with a palatable (Though not great) entry in the ever- expanding universe.

      Continuing from where Ant-Man And The Wasp left off, Quantumania has Scott Lang, Van Dyne and their families being transported to the Quantum Realm to face a powerful new enemy named Kang The Conqueror. For Marvel fans, the newest entry in the Ant-Man franchise (Which also marks the 31st installment in the popular MCU) is not devoid of its share of faults, although there's enough positive elements here that makes it work as being a reasonably enjoyable entry despite easily being the weakest installment of the trilogy thus far. 

      Much of Quantumania's strength as a fun superhero flick lies within the performances delivered by its cast, particularly Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors whose performances literally make the whole thing worthwhile. Rudd once again proves that he was born to play the role of Avenger Scott Lang/Ant-Man with his character being more of a celebrity figure this time around while maintaining his characters wisecracking persona. Young actress Kathryn Newton shines as Scott's rebellious 18-year old daughter, who desires to do good like her dad. Both Rudd and Newton share strong chemistry with them deepening their father and daughter dynamic. Evangeline Lilly gives another solid performance as Hank and Janet's daughter Hope Van Dyne, as well as Scott's love interest. Both Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer churn out strong work as physicist Hank Pym with Pfeiffer playing his wife Janet, who was previously lost in the Quantum Realm for 30 years. While both do a fine job of playing their characters, it's Pfeiffer who gives the stronger performance with her character being fearful of Kang's potential. The true star of the film however, is Jonathan Majors performance as Kang The Conqueror who literally carries the film on his back. Majors is absolutely chilling here with the audience truly getting the sense that there's a powerful new adversary in the making. Other noteworthy performances include Bill Murray as the traitorous Lord Krylar, who shares a history with Janet in the Quantum Realm, and Corey Stoll as Hank's former protege whose now a mutated cyber enhanced individual with a giant head named M.O.D.O.K.

      The directing by Peyton Reed is notably effective in how he's able to present the Quantum Realm universe in a form that's visually stunning and vibrant. The action sequences range as being typical MCU/superhero style violence with surprisingly intense bits including a bloody one-on-one fight involving Scott and Kang, along with large-scale, war-like battles that's familiar to MCU fans. At 125 minutes, Reed exercises fast-paced storytelling while setting up moments of peril involving main characters with audiences left being fearful of their safety. Where Reed succeeds as Quantumania's director is finding the right blend of comedy mixed with action while not forgetting what made the previous Ant-Man films a hit with audiences, which was the heart behind the story rather than the eye-catching visuals. The film however, is not without its glaring faults such as the effects work on M.O.D.O.K's character that feels like the visual effects team rushed through the process. The soundtrack by Christophe Beck, introduces a score that feels more dramatic and darker compared to prior films, but goes hand-in-hand with the stories change of scenery regarding the Quantum Realm.

      With Quantumania's writing, the script ends up being a serviceable effort despite a few key ingredients being notably absent (Michael Pena's character Luis's scene-stealing narration is sorely missed here). The story is at its strongest when strengthening the dynamic between Lang and Cassie, which is heartfelt to watch given their arc throughout the series. Ant-Man's character  remains spot-on with audiences being reminded of the characters charm with the films opening narration. The return of the series familiar characters including Hank, Janet, and Hope help in keeping continuity with the previous films, despite their characters feeling somewhat shafted this time around in regards to receiving sufficient screentime. Although fans of the series will undoubtedly miss Scott's comedic pals including Luis, the family aspect of the story takes the center stage with Cassie's character receiving a significant upgrade in character development this time around. Her character is now a teen who channels her father's rebellious past with authority, while wanting to help the universe like him. Although her character appears as being self-righteous and naive, her character growth and relationship with Scott works here. While there are some questionable aspects of the script such as the wasted potential regarding Bill Murray's character along with the jumping around regarding Kang's backstory outside of him basically being a Napoleon-styled exiled supervillain with an enormous thirst for revenge, the latter deflects from the scripts shortcomings (M.O.D.O.K's character feels unnecessary and often comes across as being cheap comic relief that doesn't always work) and ultimately makes the film work while simultaneously raising the stakes for future MCU stories. 

      Although not as good the first two films in the series, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania possess enough of the previous films heart and charm to make it a reasonably fun and respectable sequel, that works best as a teaser for bigger things to come.

Final Verdict: Worth a watch if you're a Marvel or comic book fan. 

Images Courtesy Of Marvel/Disney

The Menu Offers Up A Deliciously Clever Mixture of Satire And Horror That Blends Well Together

       The best type of horror stories are those which are told through an unconventional lens. For some horror films, the stories are so uniquely crafted that they don't necessarily feel like a horror tale despite very much being so. With Searchlight Pictures The Menu, the film blends elements of horror within its story along with black comedy. The result is an effectively humorous and terrifying spin on the food industry that serves as being a deliciously fun satire of the rich. 

      The Menu's plot centers around a young couple traveling to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where its chef has prepared a lavish menu with a shocking twist. The story is essentially one that takes aim at the rich and wealthy while showing how creative people can go unappreciated for all their efforts with them finally deciding to exact revenge in the most cruel fashion. What The Menu offers is an enjoyably delicious experience that carries all the right ingredients to make it desirable for audiences while shining a darkly funny light on the food industry. 

      It can be said that much of the films  effectiveness as a horror story is largely attributed to the level of devotion put forth by the films outstanding ensemble. Both Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy deliver the films strongest performances with Fiennes nailing it as celebrity chef Julian Slowik, who owns an exclusive restaurant located on a private island. Fiennes is mesmerizing as the films hellish chef who makes little effort to hide his contempt for the unappreciative attitude he's received from wealthy privileged guests and decides to put them through the ultimate hellish nightmare. He is absolutely chilling to watch with Anya Taylor-Joy impressively matching his performance as Margot Mills, the date of Tyler's character whose revealed to be an escort who previously served another wealthy guest at the restaurant. Joy plays her character as being cool and collective with her character serving as a strong contrast to Tyler's blind obsession with chef Slowik. Her scenes with Fiennes are among the films best and do much to increase the stories intensity. Nicholas Hoult does a terrific job playing Erin's boyfriend Tyler with his character coming across as being an obsessive fanatic of Slowik. He does a fine job of making audiences despise his character. The rest of Menu's cast present strong performances including John Lequizamo as washed up movie star George, Aimee Carrero as his personal assistant Felicity, Janet McTeer as food critic Lillian, Hong Chau as Slowik's assistant Elsa, Paul Adelstein as Lillian's assistant Ted, Reed Burney and Judith Light as regulars Richard and Anne, with Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, and Rob Yang as business partners Soren, Dave, and Bruce.

      The directing by Mark Mylod is wonderfully handled with him cleverly combining shocks with clever laughs, relevant themes, and shockingly gruesome moments involving blood splatters, a character blowing his brains out unexpected infront of everyone, and characters being burnt alive (Yes, you read that correctly). The film is well-shot with brilliant cinematography that helps to heighten the films level of tension with the background design giving the feel that these characters are in a luxurious place of wine and dine. At 106 minutes, The Menu's story remains relatively fast-paced with the films first half carefully establishing all the restaurants guests, as well as the key players in the kitchen while steadily building up the suspense. When the story switches into horror film mode, it never lets go of the audience until its shocking climax. In terms of overall direction, Myloid does a damn fine job of crafting a new kind of nightmare for audiences while making some valid points regarding societal structures. 

      With The Menu's writing, the script examines all the personal anxieties, frustration, and deep horrors of working in the food service industry, as well as the lack of acknowledgement and appreciation for the effort that go into preparing such exquisit meals for others. Fiennes character Slowik, serves as a manifestation of these attitudes as he makes little effort to hide his true feelings of disgust towards the attitudes of many of his wealthy hosts. The writing does an exceptional job of utilizing the films first act to establish important character arcs while giving insight to each of Slowik's guests. The latter are shown to be entitled individuals with one-dimensional depth that was always meant to be intentional with driving home the films main point. In addition, the audience also learns that Margot has taken the place of Tyler's wife, which immediately alarms Slowick as it throws off everything that was originally planned. What makes The Menu work so well is the unexpected twists and turns that keeps audiences in suspense when revealing that there's something truly sinister lurking beneath the surface regarding the Chef's plans. One key sequence involving a suicide will shock audiences as equally as it does the characters in the film. The slow shifting of the films tone from being black comedy to something sinister is thrilling with the revelation of people's dark secrets keeping audiences at the edge of their seat. As far as writing goes, The Menu does a commendable job of setting up its story and characters while rejecting the urge to succumb to typical horror film cliches. 

      Although it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea and it doesn't go all the way in maximizing the full potential of its horror elements, The Menu still delivers a tightly constructed atmospheric thriller that's smart, stylishly filmed, and gets its main points across regarding wealth and egos while doing so in a fashion that's pleasing. Food lovers will undoubtedly get a kick out of all the cue card name droppings from each meal shown throughout the film with the stories satirical approach delivering an immensely fun experience. Like the meals being painstakingly prepared by Chef Slowick's team, The Menu is a deliciously fun surprise that masterfully terrifies audiences in a creative way while having a delight in doing so.

Final Verdict: SEE IT.

Images courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Knock At The Cabin Leaves Audiences With A Surprisingly Decent Supernatural Tale From M. Night Shyamalan

       It seems that when a new film is released and  M. Night Shyamalan's name is attached as writer-director, audiences either respond with a groan or extreme hesitance to watch his latest work. What once began as a promising filmmaking career that had some proclaiming him to be the next Steven Spielberg with early breakthrough hits including The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs also saw massive critical failures like Lady In The Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. To most audiences, Shyamalan's career has become an unpredictable yo-yo with recent works like The Visit and Split meeting audiences with surprising success to Glass and Old once again misfiring with audiences. With Universal Pictures Knock At The Cabin, Shyamalan reverts back to his post Sixth-Sense glory days with the results marking a notable improvement over his recent efforts. Although not perfect, Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin delivers a more restrained and old-fashioned version of the directors form of storytelling that easily makes it one of his better films in recent times.

      Based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay, Knock At The Cabin's plot has a young girl named Wen and her parents being taken hostage by four armed strangers, who demand that they make the unthinkable choice of sacrificing one or the other in order to avert the apocalypse. Playing off the supernatural elements that rose Shyamalan's career to high fame, Cabin represents a welcomed return to form for the unconventional filmmaker whose career has since struggled to regain its upper-tier stature. While it won't blow anyone's mind much like Shyamalan's early films did, Knock At The Cabin works as being a serviceable supernatural thriller that's tightly paced and gives audiences glimpses of the talent that once made Shyamalan one of the most promising filmmakers of his generation. 

      When it comes to performances, the cast delivers solid work while demonstrating total devotion to Shyamalan's story. The strongest work comes from Dave Bautista as mysterious and persuasive stranger Leonard, who explains that he needs Wen and her parents to help save the world by making the ultimate sacrificial choice. Bautista displays a surprising amount of range with audiences left guessing on whether his character is speaking the truth or just mentally ill. Along with Bautista's performance, Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge shine as Wen's loving same-sex parents Eric and Andrew with Eric's character shown to believe in what Leonard is claiming whereas Andrew see's the group as being mentally unstable kidnappers. Kristen Cui does well as seven-year old Wen, who quickly becomes suspicious of Leonard's intentions upon first meeting him, and fearful of the others once she notices the weapons they're carrying. The rest of Leonard's group prove to be effectively convincing including Nikki Amula-Bird as Sabrina, Abby Quinn as Adriane, Rupert Grint as redneck Redmond, and M. Night Shyamalan in a blink-and-you'll miss cameo as an informercial host.

      With Cabin's directing, Shyamalan presents the story with an old school 1990's feel with him utilizing the same style of camera work from that era including using the same Universal Pictures logo from that period. Where M. Night thrives as the films director is creating an effective atmosphere that carries a sinister feel to it. The violence shown is intense with characters being killed off with quick glimpses of bloody wounds, and terrifying news footage showing huge ocean waves wiping out large populations of people along with planes randomly crashing all over the place. The films pace is kept fast-paced though steadily moving while never feeling like the story is dragging. The score by Herdis Stefansdottir enhances the mood of the story while adding to the mystery and suspense behind what's unfolding throughout the film. Although Shyamalan doesn't do anything here to reinvent the wheel, he reverts back to basics and generates some fairly decent suspense and mystery surrounding the plot. 

      Outside of Supernaturalist themes, Shyamalan's films also touch upon spirituality with Cabin's plot begging the question of what aspects of humanity are worth saving when facing an apocalyptic crisis. The group that Leonard leads is essentially the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with them forcing Wen's family to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save humanity. Despite minimal development, the group of strangers are left as a mystery to audiences which adds to the stories ambiguity. The apocalypse is written in a way which audiences are left guessing whether it's really happening or just a figment of the strangers imagination with brief glimpses of it being shown through news clippings. Rather than going all out with a large scale apocalyptic take, Shyamalan it's to keep things grounded and personal with building up key characters whom the audience can connect with such as Wen's family while questioning the motives of Leonard's group. In terms of writing, this is Shyamalan's strongest script in years and marks a strong improvement over both Glass and Old. It also helps that other hands were involved in the writing process with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman penning the initial draft.

      From the films chilling opening scene involving Wen picking grasshoppers to meeting Leonard and the latter revealing his true intentions, Knock At The Cabin presents interesting ideas and concepts that weave together in a story that ranks as being a welcomed return to form for Shyamalan. While not perfect and still contains moments where M. Night's style of directing can become infuriating at times, Knock At The Cabin nonetheless, shows that the filmmakers skill for generating spooky atmospheres remains intact with him using every aspect of the setting to maximum effect. It never reaches the cinematic levels of his early works like The Sixth Sense or Signs but it ultimately proves to be surprisingly watchable with a decent plot twist that proves effective. If one hasn't found themselves to be completely burnt out by the directors uneven pattern of film quality then they may be surprised at what they find here. 

Final Verdict: Worth a watch but can wait to be seen from either Redbox or streaming. 

Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures