Alex's 2024 Cinema Corner: Week of February 26th

Before you read I know the question you all have... "am I on the right website?". "Rouge Eye SPORTS having an article about cinema?".

I assure you, there has been no typo in your search or no issue in your hyperlink.

Although sports has always been the main focus of this brand and honestly, my life, movies/television has become another massive passion in the past year or so. In 2023, I dove right into the world of cinema and was able to reach a deeper appreciation like I've never had before. It was a whole new avenue of enjoyment for me and allowed me to connect with a lot of new people. I'm glad I picked up this interest again and I plan on continuing it even more in 2024.

'Alex's Weekly 2024 Cinema Corner'  will consist of my thoughts on every bit of movie and television I watched in the past week, what I'm currently in the middle of watching(if anything) and some short thoughts on some movie news from the past seven days.

As I was hinting at earlier, I do have two rating apps that allow me to keep up with what I watch. My letterboxd account is aps12359 and my serializd account is alexschlerf. These will have every movie or TV show I've rated, ever, and also some lists beyond the ones I share here. Feel free to follow and keep up the discussion past this article! As always, comments on this article and on Twitter/X are open if you want to peacefully debate about anything I say!

Lastly, just please don't get mad if I don't rate your favorite movie five stars or don't talk about a bit of news that you read from the past week. The beauty of cinema is that everyone can enjoy certain aspects in different ways; the reason why we don't all have the exact same opinion on everything. This is MY column, meaning it will end up leaning towards the movies/TV shows that are on my list and the movie news that appeals to me the most. Let's just all have fun.

February 26th, 2024: Spider-Man 2 (Directed by Sam Raimi)

Credit: ScreenCrush

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Spider-Man 2 is a solid film that is a step down from the first installment in this franchise. I just feel that the whole storyline of Peter having a mid-life crisis turns out boring and could've been executed so much better. It's not the worst concept in the world, it just wasn't handled the way I would've liked. The whole middle of the movie just feels like a slog and you spend the entire time waiting to get to the actual action. It feels like Peter's entire arc from the first film was thrown in the trash in favor of a classic Spider-Man trope. This should have been something that was used in the third film because putting it in here so soon fails to capitalize on the success of the first. The acting in this film is a plus as always. Tobey Maguire is asked to do a little more acting-wise and he is able to execute it well. J.K. Simmons is seriously up there for one of the best comic book castings ever. I think Kirsten Dunst is solid and Alfred Molina is an amazing fit as Doctor Octavius. Unfortunately, they don't really use him at all until the end and he's just a second thought for the entire movie. The emotion that he shows with Peter at the end should've been focused on for the entirely of the film and In hindsight, I'm glad they got their moment in No Way Home. That's the crux of a lot of Spider-Man 2: there's a really good film in here somewhere but nothing is executed in the best way it can be. Not to mention this is two films now where James Franco has just been... there. However, the scene on the train with the New Yorkers is a classic Spider-Man scene and is certainly up there with iconic scenes with this character. Again, there's a lot of good in here, but the writers lack of execution on key parts of the film holds it back from being anything more than a mediocre installment.

February 27th, 2024: Dune Part One (Directed by Dennis Villenueve)

Credit: Rolling Stone

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

To be perfectly honest, I had very high expectations going into the first Dune. I have heard amazing things about this franchise and with the second one coming out next week I thought I had to be caught up on what all the talk is about. I definitely enjoyed Dune... but I'm not sure it reaches the level of an elite-tier movie. I can totally see where the appeal is: the cast is fantastic, the cinematography is beautiful and it's a really cool concept. This cast is an acting clinic, with Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem particular standouts. I'm not sure Timothée Chalamet is the perfect choice to anchor a franchise like this, but he still shines at points. The overall cast is filled with big names but they aren't just there for show - they all fit their characters very well. It's expected when you have Dennis Villenueve directing, but I can't get over how good this movie looked. The fact that practically the entire movie takes place on sand dunes and Villenuve is able to make it realistic shows how talented he is. I know it's based off a very popular book series, so I'm not surprised to see the incredible concept be played off so well on the big screen. However, this movie is simply not close to perfect. The main problem is one you've probably heard about this film before: it's really slow. Considering my opinions on movies like Oppenheimer and Blade Runner 2049, two movies longer than Dune, it's not like I have any problem with longer movies. It's just that this movie is so slow that it's easy to get lost. The runtime is 155 minutes but it will feel a lot longer than that. Additionally, it felt like most of this movie is just setup for the second movie. I get they have to "tease" it slightly throughout, but this felt excessive. This is also one of those films where if you miss one line here and there, you'll be entirely confused. I was lucky enough to watch this with somebody who had already seen this film and could explain parts to me, but it's boarder line absurd how important the traditional throw-away lines are. Lastly, I absolutely hated the ending. I get how they were building to the conclusion of Chalamet's character joining the Fremen for the entire film, but it doesn't really play out the way I expected. It's not really realistic that this group of rogue sand people will see this guy they've never seen before, allow him to duel with one of their own (and kill him) and then all of the sudden praise him as this amazing leader. It could've been a super cool ending if they were able to explain it better, but it just felt like really lazy writing. This is a great movie and I can't wait to watch the second part next week, but it's not getting anywhere near my top ten list.

Onto the Cinema News Section...

I get it... Warner Brothers is in a tough spot right now. Some of their biggest departments are going through a complete creative overhaul, movies are getting cancelled and they are begging certain actors like Tom Cruise or Margot Robbie to commit to a long-term deal with the company because they are some of the only people that can make them money. However, trying to merge with certain companies just seems like a desperation move. Obviously this one didn't work out, but who says they won't keep trying? I'm not sure who would even be interested, but Warner Brothers needs to stop trying to fix all of their issues in one sitting and take it one at a time. I think the Cruise and Robbie idea is actually a good one. Start with that. Then, stop cancelling movies that fans would enjoy and filmmakers worked really hard on. Then, be patient until next year and trust that James Gunn will be able to turn the DC brand into a success. They just need to take these small baby steps over the next couple years because the brand is really at an all time low publicly right now. Even then, it's clear they can still make good movies. Barbie was possibly the biggest movie of all of last year and it grossed over a billion at the box office. Just slow everything down and work together to build it back to the brand we all know it can be. All people want are just to watch good actors and good filmmakers in good movies...

I'll be honest, I have mixed feelings about a Spider-Man: The Animated Series contuination. I haven't seen the show since I was a kid (a rewatch is probably in order later this year), but everyone who has seen it would agree it's fantastic and a great representation of Peter Parker. However, does everything need a reboot/continuation? I think we'll probably get the answer to that when X-Men 97' comes out this month, but it just worries me that they could botch the legacy of the show. Usually my rule is as long as the majority of the creators and voice actors from the original are returning, I'll be confident. That's the case with X-Men 97' and I guess I'd be pretty surprised if anyone green lit a childhood classic Spider-Man series continuation if it wasn't up to the standards of the original, but who knows nowadays. This is all hypothetical as only one side is interested in it, but there's obviously interest from the fans. We'll see if this ever develops but I'm just on the fence on wether it should happen. I'll probably have a better opinion once we see how X-Men 97' turns out later this month (I'm so unbelievably excited).

I don't love to include two Warner Brothers failure related news pieces in one article, but it was somewhat of a slow news week so here you go. This is more just going to be me using my platform to voice how devastating it is that Coyote vs. Acme will most likely never be seen anywhere. For those who don't know, this film was a classic Looney Tunes spinoff that was supposed to release this year but then cancelled due to the mess at Warner Brothers. I'm not personally the biggest Looney Tunes fan in the world, but I certainly enjoy it from time to time and I thought this film seemed like a fun idea. Then after hearing how fantastic it was hyped up to be, just hearing that we will most likely never see it really sucks. It sucks for the voice actors, writers and filmmakers who worked very hard to produce this movie but still won't ever get recognized for it. The creators were trying to shop the film to other studios but Warner Brothers prevented this from happening. I really hope some deal can be agreed to have Coyote vs. Acme be shown either in theaters or on streaming because it's really awful that none of the hard work of the talented people who worked on it will be showcased. Everyone involved with this situation... do better.