Episode 365: Peter Pan & Wendy

David Lowery has a way with fantasy and imagery and for the second time he is adapting a Disney animated film into live-action, this time a much more well-known one. But does he bring enough creativity and imaginative vision to set this version apart from the man that came before? And why is Peter Pan only the third most interesting character in a movie whose title starts with his name? We dig into the new straight to Disney+ release and even debate that strategy along the way.

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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MOVIE REVIEW: Underwater

Underwater, no one can hear you scream!
(unless of course they have a mic in their dive suit helmet and you do too, and then you can definitely hear them scream but I digress)

 

It’s easier to just get the comparisons out of the way right off the bat. The hot take will be that “Underwater” is “Alien” at the bottom of the ocean. And, of course, there’s some truth to that, or people wouldn’t be saying it. Sure, “Underwater” follows a female primary protagonist, who is part of a crew trying to stay alive amidst the presence of mythical deadly creatures, but much of the film plays out a lot more straightforward than you might expect, instead resembling a traditional natural disaster escape movie.

Narratively, “Underwater” isn’t too deep (heh), and that’s perfectly alright. Director William Eubank makes a great choice utilizing the credits sequence to provide background information that normally would be delivered via boring, pace-slowing exposition. Instead, a collection of newspaper articles, scientific papers, and memos flashing behind the credits tell us that our setting is a drill site in the Mariana Trench, where the deepest drilling in history is taking place, and that reports of mysterious shadowy creatures have been made. Once inside Kepler Station, we meet Norah (Kristen Stewart), reflecting on the isolation and timelessness of life in the deep while brushing her teeth. Within minutes, though, a breach of the station hull occurs due to an earthquake and what follows is a 90-minute rush to rescue, survive, and escape. Along the way, Norah, a mechanical engineer, teams up with fellow survivors. They include a wise-cracking, Alice in Wonderland obsessed goof played by T.J. Miller (who surprisingly has a few jokes actually land), their calm and collected Captain (Vincent Cassell) of the station, and a few others. The Captain proposes a dangerous plan where they will don their deep-sea suits, descend, and then traverse the nearly 7-mile deep ocean floor to reach another station that still has working escape pods. They all know it’s insane, but they have no choice. What follows is a suspenseful group effort to stay alive; some do, some don’t. At times it definitely gets ridiculous and some of the more chaotic action is nearly incoherent in the dark watery setting, but mostly it’s a hell of a lot of fun, with the dialogue kept at a minimum and the propulsive intensity dialed up high throughout. Stewart is a capable lead and her considerable talent is on display, even when not really necessary. She carries an emotional weight for the crew that elevated the film for me, and she is also a part of the film’s most memorable monster moment.

The concept of “Underwater” certainly could have been presented in a longer, smarter, and more dramatically heavy film – one that isn’t so predictable, doesn’t play fast and loose with science, and gives a more thorough explanation about the creatures encountered. But that’s not this movie, and as I said in the beginning, that’s okay. What “Underwater” does is deliver a fast-paced, claustrophobic, action-thriller (backed by an excellent Marco Beltrami/Brandon Roberts score) that works perfectly fine without sea monster aliens even introduced, but that takes joy in leaning into its creature feature third act. It’s wild and at times silly, but I had a great time watching it and would gladly sit through it again when it releases on home video. Not every movie needs to have depth (heh again) to be entertaining, even if its title makes you think otherwise.

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Aaron White is a Seattle-based film critic and co-creator/co-host of the Feelin’ Film Podcast. He is also a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society. He writes reviews with a focus on the emotional experience he has with a film. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter to be notified when new content is posted.

MOVIE REVIEW: 6 Underground

After more than 20 years deep in the scene of Hollywood, Michael Bay has become set in his ways. During a blast of a start with blockbusters such as “Bad Boys”, “The Rock”, and “Armageddon”, Bay looked like he was headed on a fast track for bigger and better things. Over time, the excitement dwindled into apprehension and caution. Instead of testing out new frontiers for his imagination, complacency became the new buzz word surrounding his films, with them featuring an increase in bolder and audacious action set pieces while there was a steady decrease in any figment of story or cohesiveness within the structure of his projects. Bay is a frustrating director to watch as he continues to settle for the bare minimum and not tap into his potential greatness. “6 Underground” is the action film that is the sum result of who Bay has become over the last decades – a generic filmmaker.

Action sequences in the film are arcadey and mayhem populates the screen, bloating it with a constant supply of weak enemies, chrome cars, bullets, blood, and extravagant stunt work. Adding on to the claustrophobia, the jagged editing is enough to trouble even people with the highest of attention spans. Many moments possess so many cuts in a short time that there is no room for the frames to breathe. When people fight hand to hand, you don’t see any of the blows connecting or landing at their destination. There is a heavy emphasis on explosions, even when you are not sure how cars and objects are easily combustible. Some of these sequences feel much longer than they need to be; the continuity required to allow momentum to build and deliver on its promise gets lost. On the contrary, elements of entertainment such as this would make for a fantastic video game. The film has frequent callbacks to games like “Call Of Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto” that will melt the heart of teenage boys everywhere with its hyper and energetic tone.

Wernick and Reese’s script is immature, barebones, and filled with a weird love affair for dated pop culture references – just like they’ve done in the “Deadpool” and “Zombieland” franchises. References span from “Breaking Bad” to Britney Spears to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” to “Nick at Nite”, and then there is a painfully cringe-inducing rendition of the opening lines of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. The release date says it’s the year 2019 but this film will have viewers thinking they are still operating in the mid to late 2000s. What passes for humor is stereotypical quips on different ethnicities, raunchy middle school sex ponderings, and lame use of poorly timed punchlines. We are in the mind of screenwriters who are trying to create mindless entertainment that is “cool” and “flashy” to stand out. The story is the last thing anyone is paying attention to; if anyone can crack the code as to why we have this group of wannabe mercenaries going around looking to take out villains on high pedestals, more power to them. Nothing makes sense as to why and how these characters came to be. The audience is told (through copious amounts of exposition) that a billionaire just decided to fake his death and become dead to the world. This techie then goes around looking for other people willing to share in the same sacrifice and become a part of this “ghost” team and make the world less evil to live in. Sounds great on paper but the choppy emotional beats and awkward time jumps make it difficult for anyone to wrap their arms around this material.

“6 Underground” is a playground that looks exciting to play in but nevertheless leaves nothing memorable to latch on to. Michael Bay is who I thought he was: a one-note director practicing the golden rule of insanity, making the same film over and over again expecting a different result. “6 Underground” is an audacious mess of the action experience.

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Caless Davis is a Seattle-based film critic and contributor to the Feelin’ Film Podcast. He loves any discussion of film and meeting new people to engage in film discussions on any subject. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.