Diary of a Spectator: Movie Reviews
  • Home
  • About

Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” is packed with thrilling twists and turns, recreating classic adventure flicks for a new generation of young cinemagoers.

7/29/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Dwayne Johnson is Frank Wolff in Disney’s JUNGLE CRUISE. Photo by Frank Masi. © 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you’ve ever stood in an hour-long line just to take your kids on a 10-minute amusement park ride, you’re probably wondering how anyone could transform the brief thrills of that attraction into an engaging feature-length movie. But, in 2003, Disney did it as only Disney can, releasing the first of five Pirates of the Caribbean movies that, together, would bring in billions at the box office. Disney has taken another stab at theme park-inspired films with Jungle Cruise, which is based on the Disneyland attraction of the same name. The ride itself was inspired by Disney’s “True Life Adventure” documentaries and has been around since the park opened in 1955. Decades later, Disney now gives the “jungle cruise” concept a new twist under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows, 2016; Run All Night 2015).

Read More
0 Comments

"Black Widow" brings the action, talent, drama and laughs… as all Marvel movies do.

7/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Before she was saving the world with Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and Captain America, founding Avenger and kick-ass spy Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) was…well, what was she doing? It’s a question that Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans have been asking since Black Widow made her franchise debut in Iron Man 2 (2010). Her past was shrouded in mystery, making her the ideal character for a solo spin off movie, and Scarlett Johansson brought such strength and emotional depth to the character that we couldn’t help but ask for more. A Black Widow movie couldn’t just be an exposition on the character’s past. It needed to give her the chance to stand in the spotlight and get some much-deserved screen time. It needed to be unique, action-packed, and emotionally satisfying. It needed to add meaning to the character and allow fans to appreciate Black Widow’s role in other MCU movies even more. As fans waited years for such a movie, these expectations only grew. After one extra year of waiting due to the pandemic, MCU fans will finally get what they’ve been waiting for on July 9, 2021. The question is, does Black Widow live up to years of fan expectations? 

Read More
0 Comments
    ​​"Our embodied spectator, possibly perverse in her fantasies and diverse in her experience, possesses agency...finally, she must now be held accountable for it." 
    -Michele Aaron

    Categories

    All
    Action / Adventure
    Activism
    Adaptations
    Amazon Originals
    Animated
    Chattanooga Film Festival
    Comedy
    Crime / Mafia
    Directorial Debuts
    Disney
    Documentary
    Drama
    Elements Of Madness
    Fantasia International Film Festival
    Five-Star Reviews
    Foreign Language Films
    Girl Power
    HBO Max
    Historical/ Based On A True Story/ Biopic
    Home Release
    Horror
    Hulu
    Kids / Family Movies
    LGBTQ+
    Mental Health Issues
    Musical
    Mystery / Spy
    Netflix
    Noir
    Paranormal
    Period Movies
    Religious Trauma / Issues
    Romance
    Sci Fi / Fantasy
    Sci-Fi / Fantasy
    Short Films
    Shudder
    SXSW Film Festival
    Teen Movie
    Thriller / Suspense
    TV Reviews
    Western

Home
About
  • Home
  • About