Disney's Jungle Cruise

Even as a kid I always thought that the jungle cruise ride at Disneyland was silly, corny, and otherwise ridiculous.  But, I love(d) it anyway.  It's the perfect ride to kick back on, catch your breath and plot your next move for the day.  Disney's Jungle Cruise looks like it holds the same promise as summer movies continue to roll out.

Like the actual ride itself one of the first delights in Jungle Cruise comes in the form of the tourist cruise with all the bad puns and less than spectacular "danger" very chessily and charmingly delivered by Dwayne Johnson's Frank.  It's all terrible in the best way possible.  Yes, the horrible puns run throughout the film and I snickered and enjoyed each and every one.  Johnson commits to the ride aesthetic and it works. Adding to the fun are Emily Blunt's Dr. Lily Houghton bringing the sass and spurring the action along. While her high maintenance brother MacGregor, Jack Whitehall, reluctantly gets dragged along for the adventure of a lifetime.  In a nice touch, MacGregor's plucky comedy relief comes with a more dramatic/deeper edge.

Jungle Cruise plays out like The African Queen meets Romancing the Stone with a dash of The Mummy (the good one not that POS with Tom Cruise) for kids. When it works, it works well with plenty of action, suspension, and thrills that entertain.  Johnson and Blunt's sparring and their chemistry hold the attention and the film together are an enjoyable pairing.  Like Pirates of the Caribbean before it, Jungle Cruise gets fleshed out to make a serviceable story line that contains some surprises along the way.

The biggest issues with this film, and so many others, comes in the form of the villain.  The two villains actually.  Neither comes off as particularly villainous and by having two separate ones they become even more watered down.  I will say that the CGI, especially that of Aguirre is a bit intense and may be a bit much for younger kids.  

All in all, like it's namesake Jungle Cruise is an entertaining, cheesy, charming slice of summer fun.  It's a 7 for me.

 

Hot damn!  After being pushed back from the original release date of May 2020 (twice) Black Widow finally hit the big screen.  Squee. Yep, I was excited to head back to the theater to see this one on the big screen in what I hoped would be all its glory.  So, with a little prayer to the movie gods, I ventured forth with great anticipation for a banging start to the summer movie season.

It pains me to say, but the movie gods were not particularly kind this time around and in addition to being the first major film of the summer, Black Widow is also the first disappointment.  

Flat, jumbled storytelling, pacing issues, predictability, and far too much glossing over key elements (Taskmaster, the Red Room, Budapest etc.)  made for a “meh” movie going experience.  Basically, all the things I wanted to see the film address and give Black Widow a proper sendoff were lacking. Very little character development occurs for Natasha or her “family.” I realize the characters are Russian and stoic, but the performances range from lifeless to uncomfortably sad. Even the action sequences fell short, especially for a Marvel film.  They were simultaneously over the top and underwhelming.  Not sure how they managed to achieve that, but they did.  

Individual moments and aspects of the film are intriguing, humorous, and thrilling but overall Black Widow falls short of expectations to the point of being rather boring.  There is so much meat for this film, but upon biting in it’s mostly bone.  By and large Black Widow comes across as a 2 hour 13 minute setup for the next thing (the post credit scene really drives this home) instead of a film to honor the character of Natasha Romanoff and bring her story to a satisfying close. I’m giving this one a disappointing 5 and saying don’t kick down $30 to see it at home.  If you want to get out of the house and brave the theater, make it a matinee.  Otherwise, stick with the Disney+ shows, they’re more satisfying.

FYI: If you haven’t watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode Truth you may want to check it out first.  Just saying.