The Eternals Movie Review

*This review is strictly based on the movie as I have never read the comic books.

It would be easy to categorize a superhero movie based on a comic book as all action and no heart. But without that heart, it is nothing but a series of fights between the heroes and the villains.

The Eternals hit theaters a few weeks ago. This latest film adaptation from Marvel Comics tells the story of a group of otherwordly beings whose job it is to protect and nuture humanity. The big bad are deviants, creatures who are not selective about who and what they kill. After thousands of years, these alien superheroes have blended into the world around them, looking no different than you or I.

When their leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek) is killed by a deviant, Sersi (Gemma Chan) takes her place and does her best to bring the team back together. But when the secret about the true nature of their mission is revealed, it creates conflict between Sersi, Ikarus (Richard Madden), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), and the rest of the Eternals.

The film clocks in about 2 1/2 hours. Thankfully, it does not feel that long. What I think makes it well done is that the narrative is not just about physical entaglments between the antagonists and the protaganists. There is heart, there is humor, and the message about what it is to be human is threaded throughout the story.

Much has been naturally made about the diversity of the cast. Personally, I think it’s a long time coming. Though I loved Avengers: Endgame, the reality is that the majority of the lead characters are white and male. One could argue that the one scene that all of the female superheroes come together is merely lip service instead of naturally giving these women the spotlight beyond the traditional female narratives.

Including an LGBTQ character, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), and a deaf character, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), was a nice addition. It proved that this world can be open to a wider range of types of people, if only given the chance.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Eternals is presently in theaters.

Five Best Summer Movies Of 2017

The summer of 2017 has been a very interesting for movies. Listed below is the best movies of this past summer.

1. Wonder Woman

Directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot, this feminist blockbuster finally broke through the boys club solo movie superhero franchise. After watching her superhero brothers in arms have multiple movie franchises of their own, Wonder Woman finally began to tell her own story. It was the perfect combination of light and dark, growing up and classic bad-ass superhero. All in all, I say it was a good movie.

2.  The Big Sick

Based on the real life romance of Kumail Nanjiani and his real life wife, Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan play out the ups and down of their courtship, including Emily’s extended hospital stay. Also starring Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as Emily’s parents, this film takes the standard romantic comedy and flips it on its head.

3. Lady Macbeth

A young woman is married off to a much older man who is need of a wife and an heir. Living in an isolated English country house, she has an affair with one of the servants. The film has the bone chilling psychology of a feminist Hitchcock thriller combined with the imagery and narrative of a Wuthering Heights adaptation. Starring Florence Pugh, the film is a completely new spin on the traditional BPD (British Period Drama) that goes where few stories in the genre would dare to go.

4. The Women’s Balcony

After the collapse of the women’s section in an Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem, the men turn to a new Rabbi. The problem is that the new Rabbi has very different ideas than what has been done before. The women are not pleased and take things into their own hands. Despite being set in a very specific community, the film is universal in its message about the consequences of pissing women off.

5. Menashe

Set in the ultra-Orthodox community of Boro Park Brooklyn, Menashe (Menashe Lustig) is a widower who has lost custody of his son to his in-laws. He has been told that he can only take his son back when he re-marries, but he is not inclined to re-marry and is trying to prove that he can be a good father without re-marrying. A story of faith and fatherhood, this film speaks to all of us, regardless of the trials of being a parent and observing the rules we live with.

The Big Sick Movie Review

Like every genre, the romantic comedy genre has it’s standard narrative: the meet-cute, the will they or won’t they, the obstacles to the potential couples happiness and finally the happily ever after. While some movies keep to the standard narrative without doing anything new or different, some movies do.

In The Big Sick, Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) is a first generation Pakistani-American Muslim. In his world, marriages are arranged. His family sets up a series of meet and greets with potential wives, but none of them click. An Uber driver by day and a stand up comedian by night, Kumail lives a life that is far from the traditional way of life his family is used to living.

Emily (Zoe Kazan) is a grad student. She meets Kumail at one of the comedy clubs he works at and they start dating. Two problems quickly arise: the first is that Kumail is hiding his relationship with Emily from his parents and Emily gets sick. Her parents, Beth (Holly Hunter) and Terry (Ray Romano) at first are not too pleased to have Kumail hanging around with them at the hospital, but then they slowly warm up to him. By the end of the film, two questions must be answered: will Emily and Kumail have some version of a happy ending and will Kumail tell his parents the truth about Emily?

The film is based upon the early relationship of it’s male lead and his real life wife, Emily V. Gordon. Among romantic comedies it stands out not only because of the diversity of the characters, but it also speaks to a modern audience. Regardless of religion or family background, there are many young adults and adults who have chosen move away from the traditional life that they were raised with. There are also many who have married outside of their culture and/or religion, to the dismay of their relations.

While it was a little long for my taste, it was funny and romantic because it felt real and normal. It was not over the top, it was not kitschy and it was just predictable enough without seeing the ending a mile away.

I absolutely recommend it.

The Big Sick is presently in theaters.