Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is based off the French comic book Valerian and Laureline. Valerian (Dane Dehaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevigne) are federal agents in a universe that exists four hundred years in the future. The two agents find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving an alien race that doesn’t seem to exist and an enigmatic conspiracy surrounding their planet. Visually, Valerian is stunning. Luc Besson is one of those directors I think understands science fiction (especially from a visual standpoint). The visual effects, costumes, makeup, and sets are all outstanding. Dane Dehaan and Cara Delevigne have pretty solid chemistry together (even if some of their banter borders on being cheesy). Initially, Delevigne’s performance worried me a bit. When she first started talking near the beginning of the movie, she felt stiff and awkward. This made me nervous because she’s one of the movie’s two leads. Fortunately, she gets better as the movie progresses. I had some similar issues with Rihanna’s performance. For the most part the singer is in a role that doesn’t require a whole lot of range. In those moments, she’s actually pretty vibrant. But, those moments that require her to venture outside her comfort zone make her look like a deer in headlights. The opening sequence was something I found interesting. I kind of went back and forth on whether or not I found it relevant. I’m not sure why the city of a thousand planets was in the movie’s title. It’s referenced and traveled to within the movie, yes. However, it isn’t that essential to the plot. Overall Valerian was an enjoyable enough time for a matinee or a rental, at least if you can overlook some its noticeable flaws.   

6 / 10      

Sleepless

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Two corrupt cops (Jamie Foxx and T.I.) accidentally steal drugs from a crime lord. Foxx plays Vincent Downs, one of the cops. A shady nightclub owner (Dermot Mulroney) and the crime lord’s son (Scoot McNairy) take Downs’ son and force Downs to retrieve the drugs for them. Now, Downs must stay in these men’s good graces, evade two Internal Affairs officers (Michelle Monaghan and David Harbour), and get his son back. The performances are pretty good. Michelle Monaghan and David harbor are easily the best actors in the movie. Monaghan, in particular stands out. She’s a tough cop that’s just trying to do her job, and that puts her at odds with Foxx’s Downs throughout most of the movie. Foxx in the lead role is passable. I’m not saying he’s bad, but I don’t think he’s really giving the performance his all. Gabrielle Union plays Downs’s ex-wife. Her character felt useless for most of the movie. They tried to give her something to do in the climax, but it felt completely forced. The action scenes are ok. Occasionally, they fall into the trap of using shaky cam, but not too much. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking. I’ve seen it all before. The title Sleepless is both a bad title for this movie and the perfect title for the movie.  On the one hand, it doesn’t really make sense for the plot of the movie, or have anything to do with the movie’s plot. On the other hand, Sleepless is a passable, generic title. It’s perfect because Seepless is a generic, passable movie.

6 / 10 

Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie deals with Peter Parker as he tries to juggle his high school life with being Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) becomes the villainous Vulture out of necessity, which makes one of the rare standouts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s villains. There is a scene in the movie involving Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and the Vulture that I think stands out as one of the absolute best in the movie. It’s not a fight scene. It’s a strictly dialogue-driven moment, but is incredibly tense none-the-less. I really think there’s something to the idea of a man forced to take up criminal activity to provide for his family. This is what I picture the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 would’ve been like if the whole movie was good. There are some liberties taken with certain characters that are bound to split fans’ opinions. These didn’t bother me that much. One was done more as homage to the comics, and less as “this is that character now.” The other felt more like the way someone could update the character for modern times. On the other hand, there was an A.I. put in his suit (it was designed by Tony Stark) named KAREN (voiced by Jennifer Connelly). I do think there were some good moments of back and forth between Holland and Connelly. My only worry is that this will be substituted out for his spider sense, but only time will tell. The action sequences and high school aesthetic actually work together better than one might expect. Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr. reprise their roles as Happy Hogan and Tony Stark respectively. They feel like they appear in just the right amount of the movie. They don’t distract from the central conflict, but I never felt like I needed more of them either. Overall, some minor flaws are there, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is the best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2.

9 / 10