I saw this pop up in my notifications and when I read the title, I can assure you, I was not pleased. Today is the 5th January 2021. This time last year, I was reeling from a great New Years party and prepping for my holiday mid February 2020. There has not been a New Years party into this new year. I haven't been able to book a holiday, so there has been no preparation for another holiday and as I was on furlough when I got back from my last holiday for several months until November, there has been a Tier system and a few more lockdowns since. As of yesterday, we have gone into a Nationwide lockdown and I can assure you, I was NOT going to watch this trailer because, why? Have I not been tortured enough? After, losing my days work, in frustration (I guess), I decided to click "play" on this trailer because obviously I'm a glutton for punishment. But this trailer, this premise, LOVED IT!
You see, I loved how the trailer started off. It mirrored EVERYTHING we have been going through over the last 9 months - being stuck with your significant other, driving each other mad, furlough, uncertainty of jobs or what is going on with the virus and then the trailer does a complete 180. Everything before the switch, I could definitely relate so if the trailer was going to show me more of what we have been going through, I was NOT going to watch the movie at all, but the heist gripped me! Like I said earlier, I loved it! The fact that they seem to be barely getting on due to constantly being around each other, then decide to team up to carry out a diamond heist in the middle of a pandemic is sheer brilliance. It's just a wonder on how we are going to get to watch it now as the UK doesn't have HBOMax. #Yawn
Directed by Doug Liman and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ben Stiller, Stephen Merchant, Dulé Hill, Jazmyn Simon, Mark Gatiss, Mindy Kaling, Ben Kingsley & Lucy Boynton
While the world has been in turmoil, Disney's Pixar decided to release this movie on Disney Plus, free of charge. Unlike Mulan, where they were testing the waters and people had to pay extra on top of their Disney Plus package, Soul is completely free with the monthly subscription. As for Soul though, when I first heard about it, I thought it was a nice idea. A black animated cartoon for the kids as we don't get much of those and Pixar are pretty decent when it comes to storytelling and the inside adult jokes. Needless to say, I do have fun with their movies. Soul...Well, let me let you know how I felt about Soul...
So, Joe is an aspiring Jazz Musician. He is currently working in a school as a teacher but he is only a substitute. Having made it into his midlife, Joe has not found a career or a job with great benefits as he has spent his life chasing his dream. Joe enjoys live gigs and the feeling it brings him, however, one day Joe takes on a gig which could change his life forever, but after the rehearsals, Joe falls into a man-hole and dies. Once dead, Joe is accompanied by an un-lived spirit named 22 who hasn't lived, where the both of them are ultimately tasked with soul searching and what it really means to be alive.
I could have gone into more detail, but you'd either want to watch it or it would just seem uninteresting. With that said, I really enjoyed this movie. Free with my monthly subscription which is cool, but the film for itself was really good. I absolutely loved the life beyond concept and the other bit. Nobody knows what the life beyond is like to report back to us and let us humans know, but I loved the explanations given. When we think of concepts and what our brain can understand and find a rationale, I loved the fact that these visuals were simply lines. There was something soo great about that. I also liked the accountant Terry and the way he acted and was handled, which was soo true to real life, as I bellowed out laughing on occasion. There were some really great lines in this movie, such as "You can't crush a soul here, that's what life on Earth is for" and a few visual gags like the famous Instagram pose, you'll know it when you see it.
A few things I didn't get nor understand, as there was a scene where Joe is talking to his mother, but then he is talking to his mother and it isn't him talking. So in my head I was wondering how did that work unless they decided to just skip the back and forth - You'll know what scene I'm referring to when you see it. Another thing I didn't understand was the Cat. Why the Cat? I guess we needed the cat to help tell the story to get a better understanding of life and living, but I just felt although it made sense, maybe we could have had something else.
The animation is amazing though. I wasn't sure about the character design at first but it grew on me. The details in the animation were great at moments but I'm sure I've seen sharper details in a Toy Story for example, but it was still great. The Voice Acing was totally on point. I am not aware of Questlove having done voice acting before but everyone sounded spot on. The Barbershop scene was great and provided some comical moments and some deep conversations held. The experiences were all there and I loved how true to life it was. I also really enjoyed the story behind the movie too, in which I won't go into, but sometimes life changes us or our dreams doesn't let us experience life in it's rawest form. Sometimes we have ideas and dreams that we will never be able to obtain because of life throwing a curveball. A little like Inside Out and A Christmas Carol and definitely re-watchable. It would have been nice to know or get to know who Lisa was, though, just to add a bit more to Joe and provide more context. A must watch if you have Disney Plus.
When I first heard about this movie, I thought to myself "really? after all these years?" and then I shrugged it off. When word started to pick up more and more about it and that it was definitely on, I instantly wondered how would they create a sequel to such a classic and unforgettable film. I head about the Beverley Hills Cop 4 and some others, but Coming To America is a Classic! A film that has great quotes back to back to back to back. A film that was serious but funny. A love story with heritage and family roots. From gags with the Soul Glow product. Scene's with Randy Watson aka Sexual Chocolate. The Barbershop and even the club scene with the weird women.
Upon seeing this trailer though, I will definitely let you know off the bat, I smiled and I laughed. The film actually looks soo soo good that I'm happy to watch it as soon as it comes out, BUT my only reservation is, I felt they gave us way too much of the same schtick as the previous movie and I feel that maybe, just maybe, they may rely too heavily on the nostalgia. This movie needs to stand on it's own, but as a sequel to a classic. What I will also say though, sometimes nostalgia is great if used right and seeing some of those (if not all) characters in the film from the first film, the banter in the barbershop....I just hope it is just as good as the first. Dolemite was great, so hopefully this is too. And if it is, a definite, Well Done, Eddie as he has definitely not lost his touch.
Directed by Craig Brewer and starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Teyana Taylor, Wesley Snipes & James Earl Jones
