Opening This Week: Pain and Glory, Black Christmas, Richard Jewell, Jumanji: The Next Level, 6 Underground
By Scottie Knollin
Spanish drama, Pain and Glory, follows the rise and fall of a film director (Antonio Banderas). Written and directed by the legendary Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory has received multitudes of praise since it first premiered art the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. After competing for Cannes’ Palme d’Or prize, the film earned Banderas the fest’s Best Actor prize. In recent months, Pain and Glory was selected as Spain’s entry for the Best International Feature Film award at the upcoming 92nd Academy Awards and Time magazine named the film one of the ten best of the year.
In reviewing the film, Spanish-language publication El Mundo csaid of the film, “Almodóvar gives one of his most intense and balanced films in a full mastery of his own mastery.” Almodóvar is known for infusing his works with touches of his own life experiences, but none more than Pain and Glory. In addition to Almodóvar’s praise, Banderas has also earned career-best remarks for his leading performance. The actor has won a lit of awards season accolades and will compete for the upcoming 77th Golden Globe Awards in the Best Actor-Drama category.
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The second reimagining of the 1974 horror classic of the same name, Black Christmas serves as clever counter programing for the typical holiday, family-friendly films that litter the box office this time of year. Starring Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, and Cary Elwes, the 2019 version of the slasher gets a bit of a modern twist.
Like its two predecessors, Black Christmas follows the haunts of a college sorority. Through twists and turns,a band of sexy c-eds fight for their lives. Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions (the studio behind low-budget horror franchises like The Conjuring and Paranormal Activity) produced the film.
Critics haven’t been the kindest to the film, finding its silly premise hard to muster among the ideals of a 2019 world. Some critics have noted, however, that the movie’s writers have elevated the slasher from its 2006 version, giving it a feminist spin and allowing it to be a bit more clever.
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In 1996, the world watched as Atlanta took center stage to host the Centennial Olympic Games. In the midst of the celebration, an explosion rocked the city’s center park, igniting a media firestorm of speculation and a years-long manhunt for the perpetrator.
Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell shines a light into the life of the event’s centermost character: the security guard who called attention to the suspicious package before it detonated and who, in turn, became the prime suspect. Somewhat newcomer Paul Walter Hauser plays the titular Jewell, while Kathy Bates plays his mother and Olivia Wilde and Jon, Jo HAmm, and Sam Rockwell fill out the supporting cast.
The film was first announced in 2014 as a potential project for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill. The dup instead produced the film as it jumped from several directors. Eastwood finally signed on to direct and has, subsequently, received positive reviews.
Richard Jewell celebrated its world premiere at the 2019 AFI Fest in Los Angeles. where it received mostly-favorable reviews, mostly remarking on Hauser’s and Bates’s performances. In fact, Bates has received awards season buzz and is expected to potentially receive an Oscar nomination for her work.
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It wouldn’t be a bust moviegoing season without a sequel or two. This year, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan return for the follow-up to 2017’s Jumanji reboot: Jumanji; The NExt Level. In this new chapter of fun, the cast is joined by new faces, like those of Awkwafina, Danny Glover, and Danny DeVito.
Critics have been mixed as to whether or not the sequel hits the same marks as the first film, which went on to become one of the year’s most profitable films. Some note the film doesn’t tread any new territory, though the cast is charming enough to still earn some well-deserved laughs.
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Netflix isn’t hanging its awards season hat on Michael Bay’s latest film, 6 Underground, but it is banking on the action-comedy being a solid watch for the upcoming holiday season. Ryan Reynolds stars as the leader of a group of vigilantes who join together to take down a crime boss. The trailer exudes a mixture of Fast & Furious and Mission: Impossible vibes, with Reynolds’s sense of humor added in for good measure.
Bay is notorious for incredibly pricey and grand action sequences and 6 Underground promises more than a handful. Filmed in Los Angeles and several locations in Italy and United Arab Emirates, the film serves as Netflix’s most expensive original film to date.
As for the critical response, not many have connected with the thrill ride, remarking that the film checks every box of a Michael Bay film, for better or worse.
