Tag Archives: harrison-ford

Elevation (2024)

Posted on by

I came across this movie on MAX and, while it was listed as a 2025 film, everywhere else had it as a 2024 release. Had I know that, I could have saved this for the June Swoon, but I do think I have plenty of films available for that. I decided to list this under the “classics” instead of 2025 for that reason.

Anthony Mackie played Will, who lived with his son Hunter (Danny Boyd, Jr.) in the Rocky Mountains. Humanity has been destroyed by these creatures that suddenly just popped up from out of nowhere. Fortunately, the creatures could not go past 8,000 feet elevation.

Hunter was sick and needed certain materials that could only be found in the hospital, which meant Will had to go down the mountain to try and find more. He was accompanied by two women, Nina (Morena Baccarin) and Katie (Maddie Hasson).

I really like Anthony Mackie. He is a star and you can see how he commands the screen in a film like this. Sadly, I do not think the film matches up to the strength of Mackie’s screen presence.

The writing is, at best, passable. The story depends way too much on exposition which can become repetitive and dull. The story is full of contrivances and coincidences that really damages the plot.

Nina and Katie started out really hating one another. There was clearly conflicts between the two women, but that conflict disappeared in what seemed no time, without any true resolution. The relationship between them felt forced and had no basis in reality. I know that the film has giant sci-fi monsters running around, which is why the central relationships have to have a dose of realism if the film is to work. These three characters are lacking in that area.

This felt like a poor man’s The Last of Us, mixed with a little bit of A Quiet Place. It was just not at a level of either of those franchises. Anthony Mackie is great and he is doing everything he could to elevate this script, but there is only so much he can do.

Captain America: Brave New World

Posted on by

The fourth film in the Captain America franchise debuted this weekend from Marvel Studios. It has been a film that has had its struggles dating back to Covid, multiple reshoots and delays. Finally, it has arrived in theaters. As with other struggles, this film has had some middling reviews from critics. All of this made me a little nervous about the movie. I am pleased to say that I enjoyed this a great deal.

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was still facing challenges of assuming the mantel of Captain America, but the new president of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) reached out to Sam with an olive branch and an offer to reform the Avengers.

Ross, who had done plenty of horrible things over the years, was trying to turn over a new leaf. However, an unexpected assassination attempt changed everything for the new POTUS.

Sam was completely confused when one of the attempted assassins turned out to be his friend and invitee Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), one of the original soldiers who was given the Super Soldier Serum and then experimented on by the government for years. Sam believed in Isaiah’s innocence and it created a chasm between Sam and the admnistration.

This film works well as a sequel to the Disney + series Falcon and the Winter Soldier and also, oddly enough, the Incredible Hulk. There are elements in the film that tied it to The Eternals as well.

Anthony Mackie is tremendous as the lead in this film. He showed that he was an excellent choice to take over the role of Captain America. He is charming and does a really great job with the dramatic moments as well. Harrison Ford, who took over the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt, looked to be having a ton of fun as President Ross who eventually turned into the Red Hulk. Harrison Ford is always exceptional, and he and Mackie have great chemistry. They are the standout of the movie.

You can tell at times that this film has been stitched together from reshoots, but it does a decent job of blending them together. With as many reshoots that this film had, it is amazing that this film is as coherent as it is. The film is a political thriller, but I would have liked even more of that.

The inclusion of Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder had been added later. Esposito was great and cool, but he was not in the film very much. I hope that he has more to come down the road in the MCU because the little bit we get of Sidewinder in Brave New World is wonderful.

I loved Tim Blake Nelson returning as Samuel Sterns from the Incredible Hulk. He is another character that could have had more screen time. I loved the look of this character.

No spoilers here, but there is a cameo in this movie that I absolutely loved!

I thought the action scenes were really solid. The aerial action with Sam and Joaquin (Danny Ramirez) was a lot of fun as was the eventual Sam and Red Hulk showdown that we have seen in the trailers.

There are some moments where the film is a little messy, but none of that bothered me. I understood with all of the challenges this movie faced that it may not have been the most polished of films. Some of the first act exposition may have been too much, but there was a lot of material that the film had to provide to those who may not have watched the corresponding films/series.

In the end, Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford were great together and they carried this film. It may not be the best of the Captain America franchise, but, to me, it is a welcome addition.

4.3 stars

Shrinking S2 E1, E2

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Jimmying”

“I Love Pain”

Season one of Shrinking on Apple + was one of the great unexpected treasures on streaming. Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. Luke Tennie and Lukita Maxwell are a great cast that brought these stories of grief, loss and recovery to life.

The first two episodes of season two dropped on Apple + this week.

“Do you know what sucks about your baby carrots? They make you think they’re Cheetos”- Paul (Harrison Ford). I laughed out loud at this line. This is a perfect example of some of the great writing on this series. The dialogue is special and they are delivered by amazing actors.

I have to say specifically that the writing for Harrison Ford is unbelievably amazing in this show, and this episode is a prime example of that.

Episode one had a shocking surprise cameo at the end as Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent from Ted Lasso) showed up at Jimmy’s office. His name was Louis and he was the drunk driver that was involved in the car crash that killed Jimmy’s wife, Tia. This was just as Jimmy was getting past the loss, but dealing with his own worries over his patient Grace who pushed her husband off a cliff.

These first two episodes reminded me just how awesome this series was. It is so well written and acted that it is both deeply poignant and outrageously funny. I am happy that it is back again.

Captain America: Brave New World trailer#1

Posted on by

After people expecting the trailer to Captain America: Brave New World to drop yesterday, Marvel instead dropped it today, and it looks great.

What blew my mind was the glimpse of Red Hulk that we got at the very end of the trailer because I know there was a lot of speculation about the possibility of Red Hulk because Harrison Ford was now playing Thunderbolt Ross, replacing the late William Hurt, but I really did not think they were going to go there. But they did.

The trailer has a definite Winter Soldier type tone to it. The beating music keeping you on edge as you might be in a spy thriller of some kind. Isiah Bradley making a return from his role in Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney + series. Giancarlo Esposito popping up with his mystery character (which some are guessing to be G.W. Bridge).

There was just a load in the trailer and it definitely looks promising. Captain America: Brave New World comes out n February 2025.