Soul Film Review

Directed by Pete Docter

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton

Rated PG for thematic elements and some language

Soul is the latest Pixar film on Disney +. In Soul, Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a middle school teacher who has been given a once in a lifetime opportunity, to play in a prestigious jazz group. However after an accident, Joe’s soul is sent to the Great Beyond, another dimension that can be considered the afterlife. Joe with the help of another soul, 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), has to go back to his body before the jazz concert.

Soul is an excellent film from beginning to end. The film has a great voice cast, from the likes of Jamie Foxx to Angela Basset. The voice cast in the film is quite superb as we can hear the depth and emotions in their voice. Jamie Foxx in particular is fantastic as a middle school teacher who has just been given a big opportunity. He works well with the voice of Tina Fey off the bat. Hearing these two voices together gives the sense that these two have been friends for a while. Hearing Foxx and Fey’s voices interact reminded me of the chemistry Tom Hanks and Tim Allen brought for Toy Story.

Soul‘s voice cast works so well because they are given a brilliant screenplay to feed off of. The plot in Soul is one that is well written. Writers Pete Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers take a seemingly simple premise and make it their own. On the surface, Soul has the simple presence of a man who is on the verge of death trying to get back of an unconsciousness state. However, the film takes this idea and makes it unique. The film also offers us some life lessons that everyone can use. Life your life to its fullest. You don’t have to wait for a grand opportunity to see that life can be great.

These lessons presented in the film is why Soul is such a great film. It’s not the voice acting, score, or humor that makes this film enjoyable. It’s the fact that you can view the film and take something away from it. I personally enjoyed Soul so much that I had a repeat viewing soon after I was done watching it. Never have I done a repeat viewing immediately after watching the film. In the second viewing, I still had the same enjoyment as the first viewing. I still laughed, I still pondered on certain questions, and I still got emotional. If a film still holds up after a immediate second viewing, then its destined to be a classic.

4/4

Project Power Film Review

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback

Rated R for violence, bloody images, drug content and some language

Project Power is an action sci fi film starring Jamie Foxx as a man trying to find the source of a powerful new drug. A new unknown drug that gives the user a unique superpower for five minutes hits the streets of New Orleans. Art (played by Jamie Foxx) teams up with Robin ( played by Dominique Fishback) in finding the supplier of this new drug. Frank (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is also on a mission of finding the source of the drug, but is also seeking Art, as Frank believes he is the supplier of the drug.

The film’s main star, Jamie Foxx, absolutely sells this film as he is the best part of it. As always, Foxx delivers in a role that, quite honestly, doesn’t require too much range. But Foxx gives it his all in a role that could have been done without an emotional depth. Dominique Fishback is also a main player in the film and does an excellent job. While she has not done too much work and is considered a newcomer, she certainly holds her own against veteran actors Foxx and Gordon-Levitt. She leaves a mark on the film mostly due to the type of character she plays. The film doesn’t treat her character as a sidekick and never stoops down the be the damsel in distress. Fishback is perfect in the role of Robin, we can only hope we see more of her in future roles.

As alluded before, this a film that has a plot of a new drug giving its users a unique superpower. This concept has originality and is worth exploring in a film. Unfortunately, this concept is not fully explored in the film until the final act. Having a drug giving users superpowers is an excellent concept and the film could have gone all out with it. Throughout the film, we only hear of stories on the radio of drug users creating chaos throughout the city. While we get a few glimpses of people taking the drug and using the power, we can only imagine how others react to the drug. A filmmaker’s main goal is “show, don’t tell”, meaning show us the action, don’t tell us it happened. The film’s main flaw is its telling us what happened to drug users, not showing us. I am not sure if the film decided not to show us how powerful the drug is due to budget constraints or not wanting to go full superhero film, but it fails in leaving a mark in its respective genre.

Since the film doesn’t utilize its original concept until the final act of the film, it mostly falls flat. Having Art and Robin search for the source of the drug in its first two acts of the film feels like your run of the mill mystery film. Yes, there are some instances in the first two acts where someone takes a pill and we see their power, but its only a few characters. Just imagine if two characters took the pill and we see two powerful beings engage in a brawl. Once again, there could have been more done with this concept. But the film not exploring its ideas to the fullest does not take away enjoyment from the film. With all the flaws of the film, it does have its moment and it is a simple watch. I would be lying if I did say I did not enjoy some moments or some of the action. When the action hits the screen, it does grab the viewer’s attention. While some of the action does feature of subpar CGI, the CGI necessary doesn’t take away from the film. It is noticeable and it is worth pointing out.

Project Power is a film that works due to its stars who give excellent performances and its straightforward action. While an original idea such as the one presented in the film should have been a home run, unfortunately, it fails to delivers. Since the film decides to play it safe and not go all out, Project Power is an forgettable film that only succeeds due to the cast and action sequences. Project Power is worth a watch if there is nothing new to watch on Netflix, but don’t expect to get much out of this project.

2.5/4

Just Mercy Film Review

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson

Rated PG-13 for thematic content including some racial epithets

In the height of the Great Depression, many Americans, and people around the world, went to the theaters in hopes to escape reality and get submerged in another world. Today, we look at the world and we see that we can no longer go to films to escape reality. We must look towards films in order to educate the public about the struggles many people face today. Recently in light of the George Floyd protests, Warner Brother released Just Mercy for free to the public. I felt this was the right time to view the film. Just Mercy is a true story of Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan), a young lawyer who works hard to release Walter McMillian (played by Jamie Foxx), a innocent man who was framed for a murder he did not do.

Just Mercy is a film that invokes strong emotions because it is a story that actually occurred. The film not only focuses on McMillian’s story and his struggle, but also other inmates who were not given the opportunity to prove their innocence. We see inmates who had rush trials with officers who are insistent that the suspect is guilty. This story does not take place 100 years ago or even 50 years ago, its a story that took place in the late 80’s and early 90’s. As much as we can say we have evolved and we are doing better with executing people who may be innocent, we are not. The story certainly makes the audience think about how the legal system in the United States is not truly equal for all.

The film is also filled with strong performances from the main leads of Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx to the supporting cast of Brie Larson and O’Shea Jackson Jr. Foxx gives an incredible performance who is wanting to be free. He conveys McMillian as I did not see Foxx on screen, I saw McMillian. Jordan also gives an incredible performance as a young lawyer in a setting he has never been in, Alabama. Jordan is emotional, compassionate, and angry when he needs to be. His role as Stevenson proves why Jordan is a great actor. In the background is Brie Larson as Eva, an assistant to Stevenson. While Larson did a fine job in the role, there wasn’t much for her to do in the film. This is not to dismiss Larson’s acting, but the screenplay doesn’t give much the character to do. It was unfortunately a wasted potential, but was enjoyable whenever she was on screen.

In these uncertain times, Just Mercy is a film audiences need to watch in order to understand the racism and struggle most black people face. While the film was set thirty years ago, the story could have been set in present times and it would not have been different. Just Mercy goes beyond being entertaining and serves as being educational. I implore all audiences to view the film and take away the lesson that we have to do better in our society and in our justice system.

3.5/4