Long-Form Film Criticism and Fiction Writing by Derek Jacobs
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation revels in its tropes. Heists, MacGuffins, and double/triple crosses abound and elevate the film to the very apex of the spy film genre. Director Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher, writer of Edge of Tomorrow) ably adds his touches and always keeps the action intelligible, but this is unequivocally Tom … Read more
The original Jurassic Park is a modern masterpiece with memorable and developed characters, a tight plot, and it helped usher in the modern use of CGI in blockbuster films, to boot. None of the sequels have ever lived up to the possibilities created by Jurassic Park in terms of story, character, or heart, and sadly … Read more
A sequel to a great film has to find a Goldilocks zone between two guaranteed recipes for failure. Should the sequel exploit the success of the original and attempt to re-tell the same story, it will feel derivative and add nothing. This is epitomized by The Hangover sequels. At the other end of the spectrum, … Read more
There was never a reason to expect the sequel to Pitch Perfect to be very innovative. If you thought that the first movie was a tired exploitation of the popularity of Glee with a half-hearted attempt at comedy, then that’s what you’ll get with this rendition. Similarly, if you were amused by the a cappella … Read more
On his instagram account yesterday, Kevin Smith posted a screenshot of the complete first draft of the newest entry into his View Askewniverse: a sequel to 1995’s Mallrats with the current title of MallBrats. Since struggling with directing Cop Out, the only time Smith has helmed a movie he did not write, Smith has gone … Read more
The Red Band trailer for the sequel to the Vacation series was released online yesterday (it isn’t a reboot, as the old characters appear and it is the same timeline). I was surprised to see both raunchy and updated subject matter, and a tongue-in-cheek tone to aspects of the movie. Much as 22 Jump Street … Read more