Reminiscence (2021)

Director: Lisa Joy. Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandie Newton. 116 min. Sci-fi.

• Bathtub device in a Philip K. Dick-like dystopian future helps customers revisit old memories. 
• Director injects philosophical themes and repeats sequences of dialogue (one of them happens three times) because she thinks she's onto something big. 
• Hollywood removes all chances from the viewer to think. Characters utter obvious statements to make the story idiot-proof. 
• Plot holes abound - like: who saw the heroine turn around in the car to say: "I love you"?
• This one and as Wolverine: Hugh Jackman likes to come out of bathtubs soaking.

MoGo rating: 5/10

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Jungle Cruise (2021)

 

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra. Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez,  Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti. 127 min. Adventure/Fantasy.

• Is it fair to compare every shark movie to Jaws? Is it fair to compare every Indiana Jones movie to Indiana Jones, and then call it mediocre because nothing can ever out-Indy, Indy? Because that's what's happening here - with a touch of Pirates of the Caribbean here (hey ... it's another Disney ride), a taste of African Queen there, and eventually, a certified copy of Indy and the Last Crusade, down to the very last scene.
• CGI effects just don't work. They're not believable! (Yes, the fiction emanating from the old Indy trilogy's practical effects was "believable".)
• Paul Giammati plays an orange-faced tycoon. Hmmmmm ...
• You need to hand it to him: Jesse Plemons does a good job on every villain he plays.
• Jungle Cruise 2? Of course there'll be a Jungle Cruise 2.

MoGo's rating: 6/10

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Limbo (2020)

 

Director: Ben Sharrock. Cast: Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai. 104 min. Drama.

• Young Syrian musician refugee in Scotland carries around in-your-face metaphors of impotence: broken arm, inability to play music on his oud, and carrying his instrument around like (another character calls it!) his coffin.
• As someone who's somewhat been through the immigration experience ... the immigrant/refugee may be in limbo about how to behave in the new land, but never in limbo on his intentions of coming to the new land - the thematic point Limbo fails to deliver.
• Beautiful cinematography and quirky culture clash dialogue are the film's saving grace.

MoGo's rating: 6/10

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CODA (2021)

 

Director: Sian Heder. Cast: Stars Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur. 111 min. Drama.

• A rare event, where you actually experience how it feels to be the child of deaf adults, and occasionally ... how it feels to be deaf. 
• Perfect casting, as the film is full of lovable characters, with Marlee Matlin as the mother shining the brightest.
• Stellar moment: the heroine describing through sign language how singing feels - because spoken words fall short.
• Climactic performance towards the end will put you in a trance, but a final melodramatic tear-jerking scene downgrades this to a "feel good movie".

MoGo's rating: 7/10

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Free Guy (2021)

 

Director: Shawn Levy. Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi. 115 min. Fantasy.

• What if we were living in a Matrix-reality Fortnite world? This movie expansion of the famed videogame would've been a blast last year, when Fortnite wasn't yet experiencing its current downfall. It's still a blast.
• Multitalented Taika Waititi (as the villain) continues to skyrocket in Hollywood. Deservedly so.
• Great message for youngsters, to break away from the norms, even when you're too scared to.
• Wait for the fraction of a second Chris Evans/Captain America line towards the end; it's golden.

MoGo's rating: 8/10

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