Reel Corner - June 2018

There’s something for everyone this summer, or at least it seems that way.

The Marvel franchise continues to crank out super heroes intertwined with other super heroes beginning with Avengers: Infinity War.  For Star Wars fans Solo: A Star Wars Story goes back in time to capture the Harrison Ford character early on. Those who are drawn to animated films, Hotel Transylvania 3 and Alita: Battle Angel  look interesting. Least not forget Barbie.

Looking for a belly laugh, try Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy or The Spy who Dumped Me with Kate McKinna.

Book Club with Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen looks like the perfect film for all you ladies out there ready to take another chance on love.

Want more dinosaurs? Look for Jurassic World 2, coming out in mid-June.

What I am always most interested in are remakes. And this summer there are two I am curious about:

 

OCEANS EIGHT  PG-13  |  Director Gary Ross
Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling

Sandra Bullock leads a cast of badass women in Ocean’s 8, the next installment of the popular George Clooney franchise started in 2001. The actress stars as Debbie Ocean, Clooney’s character’s ex-con sister, who, after getting out of jail, recruits seven other women to pull off a glamorous job. The heist takes place at the annual New York City Met Gala, where Vogue’s Anna Wintour invites the biggest A-Listers to dress up in theme and look glam. The team crashes the gala to swipe a priceless necklace off a celebrity’s neck. Since it takes place at one of the hottest tickets of the year, several celebrities will be making cameos.

Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Hailey Baldwin and Olivia Munn all make appearances, as do several prominent designers like Alexander Wang and Tommy Hilfiger. And of course, Wintour herself will appear in the film, because it wouldn’t be the Met Gala without the granddame of fashion. It is rumored that Matt Damon and possibly George Clooney will appear, but not sure how or to what significance. It should be fun to see how creative this con will be with women at the helm.

 

SCARFACE  R  | Director Antoine Fuqua
Diego Luna

This is the third time this story has been told, starting with the 1932 feature starring Paul Muni. Fifty-one years later the film was remade into the version that is best known to audiences, with Al Pacino playing the Cuban, Tony Montana. Despite the 1983 film’s popularity, many consider it a gross example of Hollywood whitewashing. Since many people forget how the story changed between the first two versions, (the protagonist went from Italian to Cuban) the fact that the remake’s release coincided with the rise of Cuban immigration during the eighties is often overlooked. It’s not a stretch to say that the ever-changing nationality of the lead gangster in subsequent versions is tied to whichever country’s immigrants act as a scapegoat at the time. Considering the US’ fraught tensions with Mexico, this version of Scarface could either finally get at the heart of why the story is compelling for minorities, or continue to be a backward and stereotypical look at Latinos.

It’s said this version will move things to modern day Los Angeles with the new Tony Montana being a Mexican immigrant trying to find his own iteration of the American Dream. The rewrite has had a bumpy road but my sources assure me the film will be released mid August 2018.

As the summer heats up, drop into your local cinemas. Park Plaza Theater, always on the forefront for increasing the movie experience, just installed assigned seating. Illuminating the way to your reserved seat, additional lighting has been installed.

References: www.imbd.com, www.movie-list.com, www.usatoday.com

Donne Paine, film enthusiast, once lived around the corner from the Orson Wells Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts where her strong interest in films, especially independent ones, began. Supporter of the arts­—especially films—she travels to local and national film festivals including Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca. There is nothing like seeing a film on the big screen. She encourages film goers to support Hilton Head local theaters—Coligny, Park Plaza and Northridge theaters. To support her habit of frequent movie going Donne is an executive recruiter and staff development consultant. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.