venice – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: This reminds me about that need for a lift in the castle.

Vampire Bat: The castle is not that tall and there are not enough floors.

Vampire Owl: We are not really going to need permission from any organization. We are vampires.

Vampire Bat: I am telling this to you because there is no need with a smaller number of floors.

Vampire Owl: I do get tired just with these many floors.

Vampire Bat: You know that you are an owl and can fly if there is an emergency.

Vampire Owl: Vampire Owls are made different. We are vampires first and owls last.

Vampire Bat: That does not mean that you cannot fly.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein would still prefer the lift.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein might want to keep having a tour of the castle.

[Gets some tapioca chips and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: A heist crew has been creating trouble for Interpol all around the world as they have been focusing on art heist at the unexpected locations, mostly in Europe. The team includes Cyrus Whitaker (Kevin Hart) the master thief and leader, Denton (Vincent D’Onofrio) a master of disguise and expert in trickery, Camila (Úrsula Corberó) expert pilot and beauty with the brains, Magnus (Billy Magnussen) safe cracker and seeker of adventures, Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim) hacker and computer expert and Luke (Viveik Kalra) an engineer and master of electronics. The team undertake two simultaneous heist works, one of stealing a Van Gogh painting in London and then kidnapping of renowned NFT artist N8 (Jacob Batalon) in Venice. Despite the best efforts of Interpol Agent Abby Gladwell (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the team manage to be successful at both places, and the presence of Abby in Venice does not help at all. The team’s escape plan creates a joke out of Interpol team that comes chasing in boats.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is revealed that the team had a fake kidnapping plan for N8 to have the paintings rapidly increase in value after being stolen, making the value rise from $20 million to $89 million. They had pre-sold the Van Gogh painting for $20 million which gets them $89 million much to the dismay of Interpol and the local police that had come chasing after them. Abby Gladwell uncovers evidence implicating Denton and arrests him, hoping to get to the rest of the team using him. But Abby’s superior Huxley (Sam Worthington) decides to have Cyrus and team take on a mission which would provide them with full immunity from international law if they manage to pull it off. The plan is to capture a billionaire named Lars Jorgensen (Jean Reno), who intends to make more money with the help of a hacking group called Leviathan which is able to create massive flooding in Europe by hacking into security facilities of dams – he would do stock manipulation at the same time. But are they capable of such a big thing?

The defence of Lift :: Lift looks good throughout its run, starting from the stunning watery world and old architecture of the city which has enchanted us through years. The global settings ad London, Brussels, Tuscany etc to the list, making it feel international and extremely good-looking. A heist in such a height featuring two airplanes, one of them being an Airbus A380 and the other one a futuristic concept model would not cease to amaze you. There is that feeling of quality written all around the movie, with everything looking so good, and having a cast that seems to come from all around the world. The movie also does well to make us believe in the impossible, and never do we feel that it is doing a little too much. The polished feeling never really leaves us as we look at the world in front of us. It dies remind us to watch films like Red Notice, Army of Thieves, Now You see Me and even that local flavoured ones from this part of the world, Varnyathil Aashanka, Sapthamashree Thaskaraha and Kohinoor.

The claws of flaw :: The movie just seems to do the usual for most of the time, and not much more gets to elevate the whole thing. The predictability factor stays with us, and the ending seems to be too quickly done, with no big action or dialogues to go with it – everything just gets solved so easily, and there seems to be no danger around here, except when one is reminded of the same; yet, things go smooth enough even with those mistakes and weaknesses. The characters could have also had better introductions and backstories instead of focusing on those two main leads. The romantic side surely feels force, and one cannot stop thinking that it could have been with some other characters instead. The villain is not given the option to be that menacing, as he is on the screen only for some time, and he just do the usual talking. There could have also been more heists around here, and the difficulties faced by them could have been given more focus. The movie also lacks the moments which would make one go for it again, and never goes for divergence, as it chooses to be safe and just the usual.

The performers of the soul :: Kevin Hart leads the way here, and the humour works very well with him, especially with a combination to Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who remains solid as the Interpol agent around here. Their moments work for the humour, but not that much in favour of the romance, as comedy surely gets to be much more. There are moments with them that quickly elevate its humour, sometimes all of a sudden when the situation is serious. Among the crew, the most convincing is Úrsula Corberó, who shines as the pilot and scores like no other, even getting an unexpected part in flight fights. Sam Worthington remains solid, and I had hoped that the Avatar–Titans star would have had a bigger role to play in this – he is a bigger star than any other at least in this part of the world. Billy Magnussen adds some cool moments here and there. Yun Jee Kim is a joy to watch throughout the movie as she gets closer to those computers and do the job in style. Vincent D’Onofrio’s moments are also to be remembered, and Viveik Kalra is not that far behind. Jean Reno could have surely had more villainy to add.

How it finishes :: Lift go on with an old model in a new world, and it feels effective even without that much of an innovation around here. With the effectiveness of humour as much as the nice action that comes in as a bonus. In a world that is so well captured, we are glad to see it as much as enjoy that action – the movie also gets to add its own big action. This might not be among the biggest heist movies that you will ever see as far as story is concerned, but this one surely has its heart at the right place with a team that works together and sticks together in style. As it is available on Netflix, it provides some pure fun on the OTT, and it might be the right entertainer for the weekends and festivals without thinking too much about it. There might be those movies which depend too much on an overdose of heroism and nonsense, but this is not one of them. I was actually surprised that nobody really told me about this movie, but this one is surely worth your time, and this is surely something you can keep as a distant sibling of Fast and Furious movies, but with no cars at all to go for that speed on road.

Release date: 12th January 2024 (Netflix)
Running time: 107 minutes
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, Sam Worthington

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

What is the movie about? :: In the Mexican city of San Juan Ixtenco, there was unnatural storm which devastated most of the place – people are known to have said that there was a face in the storm, and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) investigate the case while coming across a creature, an Earth Elemental, which derives its powers from Earth. At the same time, a super-powered man Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrives to fight the creature. In New York City, the Midtown School of Science and Technology restarts its academic year to take in those students who were affected by the events of Avengers: Infinity War. There is a two-week summer field trip to Europe, starting at Venice, Italy. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) plans to confess his love for classmate MJ (Zendaya) there. Meanwhile, Harold Hogan (Jon Favreau) contacts him to provide the news that Nick Fury is looking for him, and will give a call soon, regarding a mission.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Peter is forced to carry the Spider-Man costume by his aunt May Parker (Marisa Tomei) despite trying to keep away from superhero deeds post the death of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr). He even ignores the calls of Nick Fury, who finds him at the hotel in Venice, after escaping the attacks of the Water Elemental which almost destroys the major tourist areas of the city. The students including Peter’s best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) and Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) along with the teachers, Roger Harrington (Martin Starr) and Julius Dell (JB Smoove) are terrorized by the unexpected attacks. After tranquilizing Ned, Fury gives him Stark’s glasses equipped with the artificial intelligence EDITH, providing access to all databases of Stark Industries and with command over large weapon supply. He also introduces him to Quentin Beck, a man with magic powers.

And what more is to happen? :: Even though mistaken by many as Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), this new hero is known to people as Mysterio, a man who is supposed to be from another Earth, which was consumed by the Elementals. He hopes to avenge his family, and destroy the Elementals, and Fury hopes that Peter would be part of the mission at Prague, but he declines saying that his school team is going to Paris and he can’t be seen in the Spider-Man costume when he is in Europe, as it would lead to doubts that he is Spider-Man, revealing his identity. But as their trip itself is re-routed to Prague, Peter is left with no option, but to fight the most powerful of the Elementals, the Fire Elemental. To add to it, he has to fight it in the middle of an on-going carnival, and his friends are also around. Can the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man live up to the legacy that the Avengers lead by Iron Man, Captain America and Thor has left?

The defence of Spider-Man: Far From Home :: It is a difficult task for another Spider-Man movie to stand strong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, considering the fact that the greatest film of the franchise, Avengers: Endgame has finished strong, and is looking forward to become the highest grossing flick of all-time. Spider-Man: Far From Home has managed to do that well enough, and has also improved its status from Spider-Man Homecoming – this one is bigger in scope and impact, and we also have the superheroes doing better, in the presence of better villainy. The action sequences continue to impress, and the perfect settings are used, which makes things even better – the visuals and the special effects with illusions play a major role in making the fights more interesting. The movie also maintains a certain amount of humour, and it remains light-hearted, as a friendly neighbourhood movie. There is also something in the end to make sure that we have something to look forward to, after the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The emotional strength of the earlier Spider-Man movies continues to be absent in this version, and this comes too late after all the superhero overdose. We have had only one Spider-Man movie before Avengers: Endgame, and that is too little – now, this one requires a lot more sequels, but they will be too late. Also, the movie’s twist is rather predictable for those who are familiar with the tales of Spider-Man, and something more could have been added to get it deeper. Some of the jokes in the movie also go some other way, and fail to create any impact – there is the case of things getting repetitive here. The superhero himself hasn’t learned much after going through all the fading away, and losing his mentor – there is no realization that is added here. Being a better hero doesn’t seem to be an option here. Spider-Man won’t get to that level of The Amazing Spider-Man or The Amazing Spider-Man 2 here either, and we have to wait for the sequels to hope for that.

The performers of the soul :: Jake Gyllenhaal is the one who stands apart in this movie, and we know what he has been capable of with the psychological thriller movies like Enemy and Nocturnal Animals. The role of Mysterio stays safe with him, and we see how well he can handle the two sides of a character. Tom Holland continues to play Spider-Man as he used to, and it gets better than the previous movies in totality. Zendaya playing his love interest makes one interesting character from the beginning itself – she is indeed the most interesting character in the whole team of school children, and lets hope that the character is not replaced by other love interests of Spider-Man in any later movies. Cobie Smulders is there doing what she has been doing well. The others in high school team do a pretty good job including both the teachers and students.

How it finishes :: We have finished most of the main part of the Marvel superheroes, and Spider-Man: Far From Home seems to come as a bonus or an add-on post that biggest battle that happened in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Spider-Man is the hero whom we have always loved, he has been there with Superman and Batman at this part of the world even before the rest of the superheroes like Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Cyborg, Flash, Green Arrow – all of them came later. Therefore, it is only fair that we hope for an even better movie. But this one also keeps us interested and entertained, and Marvel once again has everything working in its favour, even after its best movie done.

Release date: 5th July 2019 (India); 2nd July 2019 (USA)
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Favreau, JB Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal, Martin Starr