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Mike Schulz talks with Dave Levora and Darren Pitra about their varying levels of enthusiasm for the forthcoming Wonka film. Schulz isn’t on board for it, whereas Levora and Pitra sound intrigued by what director Paul King, who was previously responsible for 2014’s Paddington and its 2017 sequel, will bring to the enterprise. Still, no one sounds so obsessed about the origins of Willy Wonka, not any more than they are about how Charlie Bucket’s grandparents became such bedridden parasites. Concerning Insidious: The Red Door, the weekend’s acknowledged blockbuster, which earned $74 million against its $14 million budget (daaaaaaaaaamn!), Schulz thought it dull, with “moderately creepy” moments. The Insidious franchise started strong and, as with many sequels, became subject to diminishing returns story-wise; and The Red Door sounds like it’s the series’ nadir. This can’t be good news for Patrick Wilson, who directed this outing in addition to playing the main protagonist — though, again, it did make serious bank, so we should all be so unlucky. About Sound of Freedom, directed by Alejandro Monteverde and starring Jim “Jesus Christ” Caviezel, this was the surprise hit, with $40 million earned against a $14.5 million budget in the first week. Schulz thought Monteverde’s film, which he co-wrote with Rod Barr, “taut” and “smartly done,” which one would hope to be the case when the subject matter concerns rescuing children from sex-traffickers in Colombia. (“The kids aren’t used as a plot device, basically,” Schulz says. “[The filmmakers] give them agency, and they feel important, as they should.”) Veteran character-actor Bill Camp makes a “phenomenal” impression as (no joke) Vampiro, a former cartel accountant who now works to save children from traffickers. Regarding Joy Ride, Adele Lim’s feature directorial début, a coming-of-Asian [*cough cough*] coming-of-age comedy, Schulz had a decidedly muted response: “Eh.” He appreciated the film not skimping on the raunch, given it concerns four young protagonists screwing their way across China on a quest for the birth-mother of one of their crew. “It’s everything that No Hard Feelings promised it was going to be,” Schulz said. If only Joy Ride were as funny. . . Next week, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One will come out, and Schulz, wouldn’t you know it, caught an advance screening. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has to save the world, again, albeit this time in installments. Given the first installment clocks in at two hours and forty-five minutes, one gets the sense that director Christopher McQuarrie is insisting that there be stakes, and that they should be raised considerably. Happily, McQuarrie, Cruise, and the grips all rise to the occasion, as Schulz decrees the film “great fun.” He reports having laughed for two straight minutes over the insanity of the stunt-work. Incidentally, this was the film Cruise made over the COVID-19 soft-quarantine, and Schulz mentioned there being scenes where Cruise looked as he did in 2019 (a 58-year-old man) and others where he’s closer to what he looks like now (a 61-year-old man). The second installment is set to drop next summer, so there’s story to burn yet. Also coming out is the gentle Brit-com The Miracle Club, directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan and starring Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, and Stephen Rea. Set in Dublin circa 1967, and concerning a group of church ladies who get to go to Lourdes, the film is described by Schulz as “every mom’s favorite movie, ever,” owing to the female acting firepower on display therein. Husbands may want to drop them off at this one as they go strap themselves in for some action à la Cruise. . .
“Sound of Freedom,” “Joy Ride,” and “Insidious: The Red Door”