Sydney Sweeney – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I have a doubt if this is about World Wide Web.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that there is no relation to that particular web.

Vampire Owl: What about the web woven by a Vampire Spider?

Vampire Bat: I do not know about any such spider being appointed.

Vampire Owl: Spiders can always be evil.

Vampire Bat: There are some spiders that are too lazy to be evil.

Vampire Owl: They still weave some fine webs.

Vampire Bat: There is no web that is woven by vampires through.

Vampire Owl: The whole vampire community is part of one interconnected web.

Vampire Bat: Well, there is truth in that point.

[Gets a kulfi shake and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) works as a paramedic in New York City, and tries to help as many people as she can. She works with her good friends Ben Parker (Adam Scott) and O’Neil (Mike Epps), and attempts to save lives, and during one among a few accidents, she has a near-death experience. After this incident, she begins to have visions about her future, and after seeing her friend die, but being not able to stop the incident, becomes sure about what she has been witnessing in the last few days. Meanwhile, a man named Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who has certain precognition power and some enhanced physical abilities resembling a spider, is trying to find three teenage girls who might end up killing him in the future according to his visions – Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced) and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) comes under his radar and he would finish them off before they try anything on him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Cassandra and the three girls end up in the same coach in the train, she begins to see vision of the death of the girls in the hand of Ezekiel, which alerts her as she tries to save them. Ezekiel seems to exhibit the powers of spiders at the same time. This makes Ezekiel aware of her presence, and begins to chase all of them. The group just manages to save themselves from the chaser. She hides the girls in a forest area and goes back home searching for answers as everything seems to lead back to her mother who had traveled all the way to the Amazon forests while researching on spiders. As she somewhat understands what is happening, the girls go to a diner for food where Ezekiel finds them, but Cassandra has a vision which helps her to intervene at the right time. But it is to be seen how long she can continue to protect the girls as the man seems to be too powerful for anyone to stop. Will Cassandra be able to find something from the past which could finally stop him?

The defence of Madame Web :: The idea of the movie has been pretty well-executed, and there is no unnecessary melodrama like that of Guardians of the Galaxy which goes silly for even racoon. Madame Web keeps the balance as we keep feeling for the characters, but without the melodrama. There is also a certain amount of classic look throughout the movie. It is always more joy to watch three Spider-girls on the screen rather than the Spider-Men. We just had too much of the new generation of dumb Spider-Man that it is less relevant, and we need Madame Web and her Spider-Girls in action. Saving three girls by going through the terrifying situation and taking the right action to change the future just seen, only keeps getting more and more interesting. The villain here is nothing less than a Spider-Man of another kind, but not related the urban radio-active one. The trackback to the interiors of jungle also suits another kind of spider-world quite well. The big names of this movie adds to the whole thing with ease too.

The claws of flaw :: There could have been a lot that this movie could accomplish, but it does stay behind, lagging with no particular reason. There could have been signs of later battles, and present battles could have also been more intense. The foreshadowing could have actually more intense, with such a cast around. One would keep wondering when all of these get to be full of high intense non-stop action, but that is not what this movie is about. With the possibility of a sequel never seemingly there, we might be losing the opportunity to see something huge on the screen. There has also not been enough right publicity about the movie at least in this part of the world. This could have been more related to some specially-powered spiders, supernatural, paranormal, radio-active or whatever names one would wish to call them. After all, the world of spiders should always be about something special and not much more.

The performers of the soul :: There are some big names here among the performers. Dakota Johnson who is known to most of the people around us due to her leading work in Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels which changed more than one shade when on the screen. Stepdaughter to one of our favourite actors remembered for cult classics, Antonio Banderas, she has worked through this with ease, even though one would have wanted her to go through the powers in a more stylish and elegant manner. Among the next leading ladies, Sydney Sweeney has the best moments, and the much-loved star with The Voyeurs fame all around the world through a quick release on Amazon Prime, surely becomes the best Spider-girl around here, and that is evident in the one action scene from the future which involves them in combat. Isabela Merced who was seen in Alien Covenant comes next in a role which has her as the more matured one around. Celeste O’Connor contrasts with her character well, but is the less interesting one. Tahar Rahim’s villain is indeed an interesting one, even though at times, he acts too strange for a person of his level of villainy.

How it finishes :: Madame Web is surely not that bad movie that you should miss, and listening to the critics and looking at the box-office collections are not required at this moment. This is one Marvel movie with spider-elements that means more than what meets the eye. There seems to be a certain amount of natural flow in this movie and the web that it seems to have with its story, is very well connected. With some visual splendour also on the screen, one has to wonder how this is not better than most of those Spider-Man movies around, with those predictable paths and foolish main characters including the silly superhero who puts the other powerless heroes to shame. If people would prefer characters like Deadpool that makes no sense in comparison to this one, it is only a matter of time when we begin to doubt the senses that prevail these days. I could not catch this movie at the theatres despite eagerly waiting for it, but surely could catch it on Netflix later, for which I am very much glad. I would surely love to see a sequel with these three Spider-girls around, especially that of Sydney Sweeney who makes a fine superhero.

Release date: 14th February 2024
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: S J Clarkson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that life means anything?

Vampire Bat: It doesn’t matter for humans at all. Then why should it matter for us?

Vampire Owl: I am sure that it would matter to us more.

Vampire Bat: I would never understand why humans are like this.

Vampire Owl: Humans need their lives to keep lying.

Vampire Bat: Yes, it is the only thing that they do throughout their lives.

Vampire Owl: I had trusted three humans last year, and I would never do that again.

Vampire Bat: Humans are all about cheating others, and nothing more.

Vampire Owl: I would trust the demons of hell over these people.

Vampire Bat: Let us not blame the zombies for eating their brains then, and go home.

[Gets a strawberry cake and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Pippa (Sydney Sweeney) and Thomas (Justice Smith), move into a new apartment in Montreal, Canada after a long time of spending time apart despite being in love for quite a long time. It seems to be the perfect place for them, and everything seems to work exactly according to the plans, which includes children, job and many more things. They soon find out that the windows of their apartment look across the street to another one, which has no curtains. They see and note these neighbours from the first night itself, and there is initially just some photography, but soon things get more intimate. Pippa doesn’t feel that it is okay to look into the lives of others. They even end up giving those people random names. Soon, they become more addicted in the life of people on the other side. Sebastian (Ben Hardy) and Sam (Cait Alexander) are the two people whom they end up seeing in action. Then there is also Julia (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) whom they see at the same apartment.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They understand that Julia is the original wife, and Seb is cheating on her. Now, Pippa and Thomas are really interested, and wants to know what these people were talking to each other. For the same, they attend a Halloween Party in the apartment, and place a recording device in there. Julia who is supposed to be the real wife of Seb knows that he is cheating on her with some of the models whose photos he had taken. As more models including Mere (Blessing Adedijo) are added to the list, only Thomas and Pippa knows about the same as they watch from a distance. When Julia visits Pippa’s eye clinic, they become friends, and Pippa really wishes to talk to Julia about all the cheating that has been going on. But it seems that there is more to what they have been seeing around. The world has its secrets, and here once again, we have more than what meets the eye.

The defence of The Voyeurs :: The Voyeurs does have some moments of suspense, and it keeps us interested about what is to happen next, and twists as well as thrills do make the appearance. We have many unpredictable moments in here too, as one does feel that he or she never did see that coming. It is then that the mood of the movie suddenly changes without a warning, and there are those final moments when Sydney Sweeney scores above everyone else. All of a sudden, we have something to look out for. The pattern is also really good, and how it transcends the genre is a thing to look out for. The final moments of the film are among the best too, as the shock does get to everyone. We also have some fine visuals around here, and there is also the message given about not to believe what we see. Well, we just cannot believe the humans about almost anything, because humanity itself is built on the towers of lies and hatred for others.

The claws of flaw :: Even though The Voyeurs could have been a better film, there is no attempt here to rise above the limitations. There are lots of slow moments in here, and we are left with times when nothing much happens. The film also takes some time to bring its twists to the scene. People will find some parts of the movie strange too, and also related to how things change so fast. We also have times when things are not that perfect, and we do feel that some of these things could have been different. It also follows the usual formula for the is kind of film for most of the time too. It could have also focused more on human nature, and how it has led to all of these in a direct manner. The film could have also had its focus on evil rather than anything else, as well as some special tendencies which people have. It does have the strength up to an extent, and we are always looking for more as far as films like this one are concerned.

Performers of the soul :: Sydney Sweeney leads the cast, and things go pretty well with her work, and Justice Smith also comes up with a similar job. Sydney is indeed lovely in showing those emotions as things change so quickly. We can see that in the end, she raises the level so well. It is beautiful to watch her emotional side at work. The leading cast are pretty good together, as we look at them. Natasha Liu Bordizzo is very good with her work, even though it is Katharine King whom we notice before her. Natasha also has something special in store, and you can wait for that too. The other names including Katharine King are fine to watch on the screen, but quickly vanish without any trace of their former existence. Ben Hardy is more or less the character that seemed predictable earlier, but not so later. There are also a number of other characters who are not given that much focus, and we forget them too, as film comes to an end.

How it finishes :: The Voyeurs has its moments of suspense and thrills, along with the twists which keep us going. It is not just what it seems to be, but more, and also leaves hope for a possible sequel in an even stranger manner. The films like this can actually go a strange route, and can miss the mark easily, but this one holds on really well. It is nice to see that another interesting thriller has come out on Amazon Prime Video during these times when theatres still remain closed. There are surely more coming up, and for now, we have this one to be appreciated. The Voyeurs might not be watched by many as of now, but it will surely be a preference soon enough. So, all of you do stay safe during the time of COVID-19 pandemic, and watch more films from Amazon Prime Video. These might not be the best time, but at least we can watch some good movies.

Release date: 10th September 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Michael Mohan
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Justice Smith, Ben Hardy, Katharine King, Cameo Adele, Jean Yoon, Blessing Adedijo