"Sing 2": Sophomore Jitters But Still A Good Time!
Sing 2 suffers from the sophomore jitters. The film goes bigger than Sing but relies on the same “Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) must prove himself” ideal that we saw in its predecessor. That said, it’s still a fun time in the theaters with the family.
We already know the main players, so Sing 2 throws us into the group’s latest performance. It’s a beautiful rendition of Alice in Wonderland that showcases Meena (Tori Kelly), Ash (Scarlett Johansson), and Johnny (Taron Egerton) in their own ways. Buster, however, wants to go bigger! He has a dream of taking his team to perform in the entertainment center of the world, Redshore City, but not just anyone can get a show in this Las Vegas style city. You have to get the approval of Mr. Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), a wolf who seems to be head of the mob in Redshore.
After sneaking their way into an audition for Mr. Crystal, Moon and associates have Crystal’s backing with a blank check under one condition: they promise to have rock star-turned recluse Clay Calloway (Bono) in the show. The only problem is, they don’t know where Calloway is themselves. Thus, this starts a race to create a unique show fit for the high expectations of a Redshore City show, Mr. Crystal’s intimidating persona, and getting Calloway to come out of seclusion.
The theme of overcoming the odds and believing in yourself is front and center again. Which is great for kids and families. However, getting to the point that the team is seeing their dreams come true in the race to pull off an amazing show is based on Moon lying his way into that position. The film never addresses this and thus there is a conflict of morals in the messaging. “Hey kids, you can do anything you put your mind to, even if you don’t tell the truth to get there along the way!” If there is a Sing 3, which there very well could be, writer/director Garth Jennings, needs to rethink Buster’s constant need to lie and somehow successfully pull off tasks. Life doesn’t work that way.
That big issue aside, the movie is fun and fast moving. A special shoutout has to be given to the Animation Department and Patrick Delage, the animation director. Sing 2 essentially is a movie that showcases a broadway style theatrical show and the animators nail it! From behind the scenes to the set design, everything looks and feels like a big theatrical show.
New characters, Porsha Crystal (Halsey), Suki (Chelsea Peretti) and Nooshy (Letitia Wright) are fun to watch and worth mentioning. Porsha is Mr. Crystal’s daughter who can sing like an angel but can’t act to save her life, forcing the Moon to choose between talent and pleasing Mr. Crystal. Suki is Mr. Crystal’s chief of staff of sorts whose animated bob and wardrobe is worth studying in and of itself in terms of character design. Nooshy is a street cat that has the performing skills that can’t be taught, or maybe they can if she can help Johnny.
The stakes are higher, sets are bigger and better, and the songs are just as fun as they were in Sing. My kiddos watched the screener I received five times within three days. I kid you not. So the kids will love the film! It’s a good time at the movies this holiday season!
Rating: B+
"The Dark Tower" Review
The Dark Tower is considered by many to be Stephen King’s magnum opus. Spanned across eight novels and across other media, it’s the series that sometimes connects to other stories from King. The film adaptation has been in development for quite some time, and after some false starts, the film finally came to life under the direction of Nikolaj Arcel. I feared, given the lack of promotion, that this would be this summer’s Fantastic Four. Well, the film isn’t the disaster that some thought it would be. Instead, it’s just an average film that has some good elements in it.
Described by the filmmakers as a sequel to the novels, and combining elements from the series as well, the film is about Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) who has been having nightmares about a Dark Tower and Walter Padick/The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) who seeks to destroy the tower to let evil forces take over. In his search to find the mystery behind his visions, he suddenly gets transported to Mid-World, where he comes across another person from his dreams, Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger (Idris Elba). Together, Jake and Roland must find a way to stop the Man in Black from accomplishing his goals.
One of the things that I thought worked with the film was McConaughey’s performance as The Man in Black. He seems to be having a lot of fun chewing the scenery in every scene he’s in. McConaughey gets what film he’s in, and the way that he interacts with people and manipulates them to do his bidding is great. Elba does a good job as well playing The Gunslinger. For their characters, this was perfect casting. Whenever they interact with one another, for the most part, the film comes to life. For non-readers of the story, the screenwriters (including Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinker) do somewhat a good job in describing what the Dark Tower represents. The film is also humorous in places, especially when Roland comes to Earth. Lastly, since this is supposed to connect to other works from King, be on the lookout for references from The Shining, It, and The Shawshank Redemption to name a few.
For the first third of the film, it wasn’t bad and I enjoyed the pacing of it. Once it gets to Mid-World is when the film sadly collapses to mediocrity. Since this is a 95-minute film, it felt like it was gutted from a much longer film. It felt rushed in places, and some of the editing didn’t feel right. For example, the final battle goes so quickly that it doesn’t make that much sense. On top of this, there’s basically no character development at all in the film, and some of the characters were severely underwritten, like Katheryn Winnick’s Laurie and Jackie Earle Haley’s Sayre. Also, Taylor was somewhat bland as Jake, being very one-noted throughout the runtime. For being based on a fantasy series, most of the film takes place in NYC, as if to save cost. The monsters look isn’t imaginative and there’s some questionable CGI throughout the film. The visual look of the film wasn’t great, especially when Roland and Jake are roaming around Mid-World. The music from Tom Holkenborg isn’t memorable either. The action scenes weren’t staged particularly well, and they make the mistake of overcutting so you have no idea what’s going on.
Overall, The Dark Tower is an average film and nothing more. What could have been a fun summer film instead felt like it was compromised in places, and the filmmakers decided to play it safe instead of going for it. For fans of the series, I have a feeling that after seeing this, they might be disappointed with this adaptation. For the lofty plans that they had, which included films and a TV series, this might just be a one and done film. Like I said before, it’s not a disaster by any means, but it’s not a great film. If you’re a Stephen King fan, maybe save your money until next month when It comes out. If you do go see The Dark Tower, I would suggest go to a matinee screening or just wait until TV.
Rating: C