Brie Larson Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘The Marvels,’ starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Park Seo-Joon and Samuel L. Jackson

November 8, 2023

by Carla Hay

Iman Vellani, Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris in “The Marvels” (Photo by Laura Radford/Marvel Studios)

Directed by Nia DaCosta

Culture Representation: Taking place on Earth and the fictional planets of Hala and Aladna, the sci-fi/fantasy/action film “The Marvels” (based on Marvel Comics characters) features a cast of racially diverse cast of characters (white, black and Asian) representing superheroes, regular humans and alien creatures.

Culture Clash: Earth superheroes Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan team up to battle Kree leader Dar-Benn, who wants to become the most powerful person in the universe.

Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the obvious target audience of Marvel movie fans, “The Marvels” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching superhero movies that have mindless dialogue, subpar visual effects and unimaginative plots.

Zawe Ashton (center) and Daniel Ings (in blue jacket) in “The Marvels” (Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios)

“The Marvels” should be called “The Debacles.” This superhero disaster is proof that a bloated budget and talented cast members can’t save a low-quality movie that is an embarrassment to everyone involved. Tacky cartoons have better dialogue than this mess.

Directed by Nia DaCosta, “The Marvels” is not only one of the worst movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but it’s also one of the all-time worst big-budget movies based on comic books. And that’s saying a lot when creatively bankrupt flops like 2022’s “Morbius” and 2022’s “Black Adam” exist. At least those other movies had a better sense of their cinematic intentions. “The Marvels” (a sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel”) is an irritating and erratic film that wants to be many different types of movies at once but fails at being any type of movie.

“The Marvels” is an onslaught of terrible screenwriting, shoddy visual effects, and fight scenes thrown into an already mindless plot. The fight scenes try to dazzle with intricate choreography, but all of it is wasted when the outcomes of the fight scenes are so underwhelming. This mishandled action happens so frequently in “The Marvels,” it makes you wonder if “The Marvels” filmmakers forgot the meaning of “suspenseful action.”

“The Marvels” also relentlessly punctuates almost every scene with weak jokes that often look and sound very fake and awkward for these characters, which are based on Marvel Comics characters. And this is not a joke: In one of the fight scenes, lead superhero Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson), who’s supposed to be one of the most powerful and fearless Marvel warriors of all time, whines like a wimp, “Please don’t,” to her villain opponent who’s about to attack. It’s pathetic and a complete insult to the Captain Marvel character.

Audiences already know that most superhero movies have a plot about superheroes trying to save the world from an evil villain or villains. That’s not a problem if the story is well-crafted and has characters that can engage audiences. The problem is when a movie like “The Marvels” does the opposite. DaCosta, Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik co-wrote the abysmal screenplay for “The Marvels,” which renders all of the characters as shallow vessels to spew out cliché-filled conversations and unfunny jokes. There are 10-year-old kids who can write better dialogue than what’s in “The Marvels.”

In “The Marvels,” the chief villain is Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton), a former scientist who is now a Kree politician leader obsessed with reclaiming supremacy for her Kree beings who live on her home planet of Hala. Captain Marvel, who is nicknamed The Annihilator by the Kree beings, is considered the ultimate enemy of the Kree, based on events that happened in “Captain Marvel.” In “The Marvels,” Dar-Benn is looking for two magical bangles (which look like long, metal braces) that give whoever wears both bangles the type of power to rule the universe. The beginning of “The Marvels” shows Dar-Benn with some of her Kree cronies on a desolate planet, where she finds one of the bangles.

The other bangle is in the possession of 16-year-old Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani), a Captain Marvel superfan, who lives with her parents and older brother in Newark, New Jersey. Kamala’s alter ego is the superhero Ms. Marvel. Kamala’s wide-eyed and perky mannerisms will either annoy or charm viewers. In the MCU, this character was first introduced in the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel.” Kamala has a fixation on Captain Marvel that borders on unhealthy. Kamala’s room is filled with Captain Marvel memorabilia, and she draws comic strips with fantasies of Captain Marvel interacting with Kamala.

Meanwhile, astronaut captain Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) is on an exploratory mission in outer space. The adult Monica made her first MCU appearance in the Disney+ series “WandaVision.” Monica’s history with Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel is that Monica is the daughter of Carol’s best friend Maria Rambeau (played by Lashana Lynch in “Captain Marvel”), who was in the U.S. Air Force with Carol. Maria created the Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division (SWORD) to detect outer space aliens.

Maria and Carol were so close, Carol was like an aunt to Monica, who still calls her Aunt Carol. However, Carol and Monica have been estranged for years, for reasons explained in “The Marvels.” (And obviously, Carol and Monica reconcile in “The Marvels.”) Apparently, Carol doesn’t age, because she looks the same in “The Marvels” (which takes place in the early 2020s) as she did in “Captain Marvel,” which took place in 1995.

In “The Marvels,” Monica is working for S.A.B.E.R., which is described in “The Marvels” production notes as “a space station covertly acting as Earth’s first point of contact and defense from a rapidly expanding universe.” The inhabitants of S.A.B.E.R. are humans and Skrulls. (Kree and Skulls are longtime enemies.) Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is in command of S.A.B.E.R., but in “The Marvels,” he’s just a buffoonish side character who utters some of the worst wisecracks in the movie. It’s a huge downgrade from the badass Nick Fury in other MCU movies.

Monica comes across the uninhabited planet where Dar-Benn found one of the bangles. Monica sees a huge crater that looks like an excavation took place. She also notices a purple portal in the sky. Somehow, Monica seems to know that this portal is “leaking energy.” It’s explained later that Dar-Benn created this outer-space portal with her destructive ways.

The next thing that happens is Monica, Carol and Kamala are all quickly transported by laser beams to each other’s locations. Kamala ends up wearing Monica’s astronaut suit. Carol is teleported to Kamala’s home, much to the shock of Kamala’s mother Muneeba Khan (played by Zenobia Shroff), Kamala’s father (played by Mohan Kapur) and Kamala’s brother Aamir Khan (played by Saagar Shaikh), who is in his 20s. Carol is in the Khan household for only a few minutes before she quickly gets transported to the planet where Monica found the portal.

Carol can absorb light in her superpowers. Monica can see light through spectral vision. Kamala can turn light into physical matter. Through the portal, Dar-Benn has somehow “tangled our light-based powers,” says Monica, who adds, “We switch places whenever we use them.” All of this nonsense means is that there are several jumbled scenes where Carol, Monica and Kamala try to coordinate their powers, often to clumsy results.

One of the low points of “The Marvels” is when this cinematic train wreck briefly turns into a musical. It’s in a sequence where Carol, Monica and Kamala visit the planet Aladna, ruled by Prince Yan (played by Park Seo-Joon), who is smitten with Carol. Why is he so smitten? Because (surprise!) Carol married Yan but abandoned him, so technically, Carol is Aladna’s princess. And what happens when Carol returns to Aladna? People break out into song-and-dance numbers, including Yan and Carol acting as if they’re in Aladna’s version of a Disney musical. It’s as cringeworthy as it sounds.

As already revealed in a trailer for “The Marvels,” Carol’s beloved cat Goose (an orange-and-white domestic shorthair) is a superpowered Flerken cat who has the ability to make deadly tentacles spring out of her mouth. That gimmick is multiplied by featuring numerous Flerkittens, who gestate in exterior eggs that resemble brain matter and who have the same tentactle-spouting ability. It’s just an excuse to show kittens zapping other beings with tentacles, which is a novelty that has its limitations in an already flimsy story.

Dar-Benn is not much of a villain, because all she does is show up for some fight scenes. A memorable and effective villain is a true mastermind and a genuinely powerful menace who is difficult to defeat. In “The Marvels,” it looks like the filmmakers thought that Dar-Benn looks menacing just by scowling and flashing some of her gold teeth. Dar-Benn has a sidekick named Ty-Rone (played by Daniel Ings), who doesn’t say much and is utterly generic.

The acting performances in the “The Marvels” range from mediocre to unwatchable. Parris seems to be making the most effort to give some credibility to her Monica character, but this effort is buried in an avalanche of sitcom-like silliness that has plagued the worst Marvel movies. Carol should be renamed Cardboard, to describe her personality in “The Marvels.” As for Kamala, her starstuck ingenue persona becomes grating very quickly and will likely turn off many viewers. Kamala’s family members are relegated to showing up occasionally to act worried about Kamala.

The ending of “The Marvels” shows Kamala making plans to team up with a character who was introduced in Disney+’s “Hawkeye” series. There’s a mid-credits scene that also shows how “The X-Men” universe further will tie into the MCU. Incorporating more of “The X-Men” into the MCU was widely expected, ever since several “X-Men” characters appeared in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” one in a growing list of MCU sequels that are inferior to the origin movies. “The Marvels” has no end-credits scene, which is good for people to know in advance if they don’t want to spend any time watching all of “The Marvels” end credits.

What’s most disappointing about “The Marvels” is that it didn’t have to be this horrible, considering all the money that was thrown into this movie, and the fact that DaCosta and the principal cast members have proven in other movies that they are capable of making better films. “The Marvels” is the cinematic equivalent of a spoiled, lazy and stupid brat coasting on the success of superior predecessors, with the entitled attitude that the Marvel brand name alone means that people should automatically love it. You can put any name you want on “The Marvels.” It’s still time-wasting junk.

Marvel Studios will release “The Marvels” in U.S. cinemas on November 10, 2023.

Review: ‘Fast X,’ starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Jason Momoa, John Cena and Brie Larson

May 17, 2023

by Carla Hay

Pictured clockwise, from left: Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Vin Diesel, Leo Abelo Perry, Rita Moreno, Jordana Brewster Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (back to camera) and Tyrese Gibson (back to camera) in “Fast X” (Photo by Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

“Fast X”

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, and Antarctica, the action flick “Fast X” features a racially diverse cast of characters (black, white, Latino and Asian) representing the middle-class and wealthy in law enforcement and the criminal underground.

Culture Clash: A daredevil team tries to save the world from a group of criminals led by a sadistic killer who’s avenging the death of his father.

Culture Audience: Besides appealing to fans of the “Fast and the Furious” movie franchise, “Fast X” (the 10th movie in the series) will appeal primarily to people who want to a predictable action flick with high-budget stunts and low-quality screenwriting.

Jason Momoa in “Fast X” (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

“Fast X” is the cinematic equivalent of a multi-car crash pileup. It’s a huge downgrade for the franchise, which is a bloated mishmash of Oscar-winning stars and less-talented cast members saying a lot of awful dialogue while dodging guns and explosions. It’s bad enough that this franchise expects people to believe that the “heroes” don’t get wounded or killed in the way they should in these far-fetched action scenes. Now, this franchise expects viewers to believe that some of these characters can come back from the dead.

Directed by Louis Leterrier, “Fast X” (the 10th film in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise) has given up on having coherent plots and interesting characters. Everyone is just a caricature at this point. Justin Lin (who was the original director of “Fast X” but he quit due to behind-the-scenes turmoil) and Dan Mazeau wrote the atrocious screenplay for “Fast X,” which ends with a scene that will either have viewers cheering or rolling their eyes at the ludicrous “resurrection” that viewers are expected to believe.

“Fast X” has a less complicated plot than 2021’s “F9: The Fast Saga” (the ninth movie in the “Fast” series), but that just means the plot’s inanity is even more obvious. In a nutshell: “Fast X” is about the daredevil “heroes” of the franchise being framed as terrorists by a wisecracking villain named Dante (played by Jason Momoa), who likes to spead out his arms a lot, as if he’s a criminal messiah. Dante is the son of Brazilian drug lord Hernan Reyes (played by Joaquim de Almeida), who was killed during his defeat by the “Fast” heroes in 2011’s “Fast Five.” Dante acts like an unhinged and untalented stand-up comedian when he commits his mayhem, such as when he threatens to blow up the Vatican in Rome, and he smirks that he’s “going to hell,” just for making this threat.

The “Fast” hero characters are:

Dominic “Dom” Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) is the leader of the daredevil crew that started out as outlaw drag racers and now have vague duties a security/spy team hired to help out government officials and elite business people who are targets of villains who want to take over the world. Vinnie Bennett portrays a young Dom in the movie’s several flashbacks to when Dom was in his late teens.
Letty Ortiz (played by Michelle Rodriguez) is Dom’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. In “F9,” Dom and Letty are happily living together with Dom’s son Brian (played by Leo Abelo Perry), who’s about 6 or 7 years old in this movie. Brian’s mother Elena Neves (played by Elsa Pataky) was a Diplomatic Security Service agent who died in 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious.”
Mia Toretto (played by Jordana Brewster) is Dom’s loyal younger sister who goes along with whatever Dom wants. Mia is the love partner of Dom’s best friend Brian O’Conner (played by Paul Walker), who is the father of their son Jack. Walker died in real life in 2013, but Brian is supposed to be happily retired.
Roman Pearce (played by Tyrese Gibson) is a nervous and talkative member of Dom’s team. The running joke with Roman is that he’s always anxious about getting into dangerous situations. Expect Roman to scream at least twice in every “Fast” movie.
Tej Parker (played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) is Roman’s level-headed best friend who has skills as a mechanic and a computer technician.
Ramsey (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) is a British computer hacker who has essentially taken over from Tej as being the “computer whiz” on Dom’s team.
Han Lue (played by Sung Kang) supposedly died in 2013’s “Fast & Furious 6,” but he came back from the dead in “F9: The Fast Saga” because he “faked” his own death.

Also in the movie are Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham), who is a longtime nemesis of Dom’s team. Jakob Toretto (played by John Cena), Dom’s formerly estranged younger brother who was introduced in “F9: The Fast Saga,” also shows up in a way that is entirely predictable and unimaginative. Government agent Little Nobody (played by Scott Eastwood) makes a return. A generic bureaucrat named Aimes (played by Alan Richtson), has replaced Mr. Nobody as the leader of the secret Agency that works with Dom and his team. And there’s also a Brazilian street racer named Isabela (played by Daniela Melchior), who makes a brief appearance in a drag race scene that objectifies women’s bodies.

The “Fast” franchise keeps adding Oscar winners to its cast, in what seems to be a desperate attempt to bring artistic credibility to this movie series. It’s just like having master chefs serve up low-quality junk food. The food is still junk, no matter who’s serving it. The Oscar winners who are new to “Fast X” are Rita Moreno, as Dom’s unnamed grandmother (she’s called “abuelita,” a Spanish-language term of endearment for “grandmother”), and Brie Larson as Tess, a “rogue representative” who’s also the daughter of Mr. Nobody. They join Oscar winners Helen Mirren as Queenie Shaw (the mother of Deckard Shaw) and Charlize Theron as frenemy Cipher, who both make return cameos in “Fast X.”

A mid-credits scene in “Fast X” shows the return of a major “Fast” franchise character, who wasn’t killed in the series. It’s yet another attempt for the “Fast” franchise to look more interesting by adding and bringing back stars to the “Fast” movie series. At this point in the “Fast” franchise, it doesn’t matter who lives or dies, because the creative innovation in this movie series is dead.

Universal Pictures will release “Fast X” in U.S. cinemas on May 19, 2023.

Apple announces Apple TV+ with Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and more

March 25, 2019

The following is a press release from Apple:

Apple today announced Apple TV+, the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers featuring exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries, coming this fall. Apple TV+, Apple’s original video subscription service, will feature a brand new slate of programming from the world’s most celebrated creative artists, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan, Jon M. Chu and more. On the Apple TV app, subscribers will enjoy inspiring and authentic stories with emotional depth and compelling characters from all walks of life, ad-free and on demand.

“We’re honored that the absolute best lineup of storytellers in the world – both in front of and behind the camera – are coming to Apple TV+,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re thrilled to give viewers a sneak peek of Apple TV+ and cannot wait for them to tune in starting this fall. Apple TV+ will be home to some of the highest quality original storytelling that TV and movie lovers have seen yet.”

Additionally, Apple debuted the all-new Apple TV app and Apple TV channels coming in May 2019. The all-new Apple TV app brings together the different ways to discover and watch shows, movies, sports, news and more in one app across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, smart TVs and streaming devices. Users can subscribe to and watch new Apple TV channels – paying for only services they want, like HBO, SHOWTIME and Starz – all on demand, available on and offline, with incredible picture quality and sound; enjoy sports, news and network TV from cable and satellite providers as well as purchase or rent iTunes movies and TV shows all within the new, personalized Apple TV app.

Beginning in May, customers can subscribe to Apple TV channels à la carte and watch them in the Apple TV app, with no additional apps, accounts or passwords required. Apple TV channels include popular services such as HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade, Noggin and new services like MTV Hits, with more to be added over time around the world.

The new Apple TV app personalizes what viewers love to watch across their existing apps and services while developing a secure and comprehensive understanding of users’ viewing interests. The app will offer suggestions for shows and movies from over 150 streaming apps, including Amazon Prime and Hulu, as well as pay-TV services such as Canal+, Charter Spectrum, DIRECTV NOW and PlayStation Vue. Optimum and Suddenlink from Altice will be added later this year.*

Additionally, the Apple TV app will become the new home to the hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows currently available for purchase or rent in the iTunes Store.

Availability

Pricing and availability for the Apple TV+ video subscription service will be announced later this fall.

The all-new Apple TV app is coming to iPhone, iPad and Apple TV customers in over 100 countries with a free software update this May, and to Mac this fall.

Through Family Sharing, users can share Apple TV+ and subscriptions to Apple TV channels.

The Apple TV app will be available on Samsung smart TVs beginning this spring and on Amazon Fire TV, LG, Roku, Sony and VIZIO platforms in the future.

Later this year, customers with eligible VIZIO, Samsung, LG and Sony smart TVs will be able to effortlessly play videos and other content from their iPhone or iPad directly to their smart TVs with AirPlay 2 support.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms – iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS – provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Editor’s note: The shows on Apple TV+ include:

Steven Spielberg’s reboot of the “Amazing Stories” anthology
Oprah Winfrey projects, including a documentary titled “Toxic Labor” about workplace harassment; a documentary (title to be announced) about mental health; and a book club-oriented program whose title is to be announced.
“The Morning Show,” a drama series about morning television, starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, with Aniston and Witherspoon among the executive producers
“See,” a post-apocalyptic drama series starring Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard
“Little Voice,” a musical drama series, executive produced by J.J. Abrams, with original songs written by Sara Bareilles
“My Glory Was I Had Such Friends,” starring Jennifer Garner and executive produced by J.J. Abrams
“Peanuts” content, based on the beloved comic-strip characters
“Swagger,” a drama series based on the life of basketball star Kevin Durant, with Durant executive producing the show with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer
“Defending Jacob,” a drama series starring and executive produced by Chris Evans, about a father whose teenage son is suspected of killing a classmate
“Pachinko,” a drama series based on Min Jin Lee’s book, with Soo Hugh as the showrunner
A comedy series (title to be announced) about video-game company, executive produced by “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” co-stars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day
“Are You Sleeping,” a drama series about how a podcast affects a cold murder case, starring Octavia Spencer, Lizzy Caplan and Aaron Paul
“Dickinson,” a drama series about Emily Dickinson, starring Hailee Steinfeld
“Bastards,” a drama series about war veterans, starring Richard Gere
A drama series (title to be announced) about CIA operative Amaryllis Fox, starring and executive produced by Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson
“Little America,” a comedy series about immigrants, executive produced by Oscar-nominated “The Big Sick” writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
“Helpsters,” a children’s show from Sesame Workshop
“Calls,” an American remake of a French drama series that does reenactments of 911 calls
“For All Mankind,” a space drama series starring Joel Kinnaman
“Central Park,” an animated series from “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard, with a voice cast that includes Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Stanley Tucci.
“Homes,” a docuseries about unusual homes
“Losing Earth,” a possible drama or docuseries about climate change
“Shantaram,” a drama series about an escaped prisoner from Australia who’s hiding out in India, from executive producer/screenwriter Eric Warren Singer (“American Hustle”)
“Time Bandits,” a fantasy comedy series from executive producer/director Taika Waititi, based on Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film of the same title
A still-untitled drama/thriller series from executive producer M. Night Shyamalan, with a cast that includes Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint and Toby Kebbell [UPDATE: The series is titled “Servant.”]
A still-untitled drama series from Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle, with the show’s plot and cast to be announced
A still-untitled sci-fi series from executive producer Simon Kinberg, who has written several “X-Men” movies
A still-untitled mystery drama series from executive producer/director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”), based on real-life pre-teen reporter Hilde Lysiak (played by Brooklynn Prince), with Jim Sturgess co-starring as her father

SOURCE: Variety

*Network and streaming app availability may vary by country.