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Sing 2 Review: A Hyper Colorful Musical Sequel That’s Effortlessly Energetic And Engaging

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Sing 2 Review: A Hyper Colorful Musical Sequel That’s Effortlessly Energetic And Engaging

Animated sequels have to be one of the most difficult projects a studio can choose to tackle. Extensive production cycles alone are enough of a hurdle, as the tastes of the audiences who flocked to a movie like Illumination Entertainment’s Sing back in 2016 may have changed in the time since. Five years later, writer-director Garth Jennings has returned with Sing 2, a follow-up that hopes to defy the odds that usually stand against animated sequels, not to mention jukebox musicals. What results is a hyper colorful entry that’s effortlessly energetic and engaging, as it revels in its love of big dreams and even bigger entertainment.

With the New Moon Theater thriving, and the contestants from the previous talent show forming a cast/family to keep things going, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is literally living his dream. That’s a dangerous place for a young koala to be, especially when he has set his sights on impressing and auditioning for the infamous Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale), a big wig wolf who has an eye for entertainment as sharp as his teeth. It doesn’t take long for things to get out of control, as Buster promises his cast and he can woo long retired rockstar Clay Calloway (Bono) out of retirement. 

Setting up Sing 2’s story almost feels like remaking the first film’s struggles into a brand new obstacle on the course of destiny. Thanks to the Vegas-style setting of Redshore City, some welcomed additions to the already all-star cast, and an assortment of music that everyone can enjoy, Garth Jennings’ return to animal musicality keeps the heart and the spirit of his previous film alive. That said, there are some minor drawbacks to the “bigger, better” playbook that’s mined this time around. 

The jukebox is refilled with songs for children and parents alike in Sing 2. 

Jukebox musicals depend on songs that can easily be thrown together into one overarching story. In stories like Mamma Mia, the thematic structure is less giving, as the entire tale is governed by those tunes. Sing 2, much like its predecessor, already has the advantage of only relying on the show within the show to make sense, and there’s no problem adhering to that formula the second time around. 

Mixing pop classics, a couple of more obscure songs, and needle drops from Billie Eilish as well as Ariana Grande, the jukebox in operation in Sing 2 will see adults excited to dig in. Engaging in an eclectic musical catalogue will keep everyone listening for the next new and exciting cue that comes on the soundtrack, as cast members like Taron Egerton, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson lend their voices to unique renditions of classics and modern hits. 

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Johansson’s porcupine Ash gets a special honor in Sing 2, as her role revolves around a significant addition to the rotation. As she tries to convince Bono’s Clay Calloway to come out of retirement, that subplot is used to integrate U2 classics as story fodder. The more pop-friendly, hyper colorful landscape of the adventures in Redshore City takes center stage this time around, but Scarlett Johansson’s performance and vocals on those songs are some of the more emotion based notes in this sequel.

Characters aren’t so much the focus of this time around, as story and showmanship take the lead. 

In Sing, one of the most unexpected triumphs was the emotional motivations of the large cast of characters. Using the talent show to win us over with various attitudes and musical stylings, the focus was more on the hearts of those characters and less on the world around them. Sing 2 doesn’t discard that notion entirely, but it does shift the focus significantly away from the animal cast we’re continuing to follow.

For example, we do get to see harried mother turned stage star Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) personally deal with the pressures of learning a new, stunt laden show that pushes her to her limit. The conflict that arises from Buster being pressured to recast her with Jimmy Crystal’s daughter Porsha (Halsey) might have been more significantly covered, if things played a little closer to how the movie’s predecessor laid things out. Instead, that thread is more of a recurring challenge to the overall show, rather than Rosita personally. If Sing was about trying to make stars out of contestants, Sing 2 is more focused on getting the show on the road. 

Such a shift in dynamic is something that could collapse an overly ambitious sequel, as changing things up can only go so far. Perhaps that can be attributed to Sing 2 being built specifically for fans who know these characters, and can remember the previous struggles they went through. That approach still leaves this new adventure wanting for a little more emotional depth, as even the Clay Calloway subplot isn’t enough to make up for that change. 

Most animated musicals wish they had the show stopping finale that Sing 2 busts out — and many have tried.

With the show being “the thing” in Sing 2, our characters do get to grow and develop through their rehearsals. It’s just that instead of serving their personal and professional goals equally, the balance is tipped slightly towards the latter. Pressure mounts on the actual show itself not to be lame, otherwise the huge finale to which everything is obviously leading could fall flat, killing the vibe the entire movie has been cultivating.

Energy is key, and Sing 2 has it to spare; which can get really annoying if an animated film, especially a sequel, loses its way in the story process. The greatest success to which this project can lay claim is that it somehow takes an animated jukebox musical, uses every color it can think of in its aural and visual canvas, and seizes the audience’s attention from the first number. As far as “the show,” no steps are lost, no beats missed, and the musical finale that closes it all out is a total knockout that should leave viewers smiling from ear to ear. In this component to the overall formula, “bigger and better” works like an absolute charm. 

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Even something as simple as hearing Bono sing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” hit harder than usual in Sing 2, and that’s because the show that Buster and his crew put on at the end actually works. The visuals can be as striking as any expert animator can conjure, but if the flow isn’t there, it’s all for naught. Many animated musicals have tried to have an ending as impressive, yet cohesive, as Garth Jennings has provided with his new sequel, and the result in this one is impressive enough that fans should be left hoping the director pulls off a hat trick. 

Animated storytelling continues to progress past a point where simple stories and catchy songs are married to entertain children. Movies like Sing 2 represent this medium of storytelling at its finest, allowing all audiences to be entertained in the same fashion and experience the same level of delight. Though it may not be as deep as its predecessor, this is a follow-up that still honors the original, and tries for something new but still familiar. It works like a charm, providing an over-the-top delight that families can enjoy this holiday, before or after checking out any other big blockbusters that might be showing in the theater next door. 

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Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octane Thrill Ride

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Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octane Thrill Ride

Brad Pitt leads a wickedly funny ensemble in a high-octane actioner loaded with twists. Adapted from the 2010 Japanese novel by Kōtarō Isaka, Bullet Train has a bevy of disparate assassins manipulated by a mysterious criminal mastermind. Stuntman turned action director, David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde), stays true to form with unrelenting bloody and flamboyant violence. The codenamed characters get downright verbose before beating, stabbing, and shooting each other to bits. The loquacious banter tends to run long, but the narrative always bounces back with sharp reveals. Strap in for a helluva ride.

Ladybug (Pitt) boards the overnight bullet train to Tokyo with a newfound sense of self. He’s chock-full of philosophy after recovering from a near fatal ambush. Ladybug ignores his unseen handler’s advice to take a gun. Surely any issues can be resolved peacefully. The job seems straightforward enough. Steal a briefcase with a sticker and exit at the next stop.

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Also on board are Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), ruthless “twins” known for their brutal methods. Lemon is obsessed with the British children’s show “Thomas & Friends”. He reads people by comparing them to the anthropomorphized trains. The twins are escorting the previously kidnapped son (Logan Lerman) of a powerful gangster, the White Death (Michael Shannon).

None of the hired guns are aware of the Father, aka Yuichi Kimura’s (Andrew Koji), mission. He’s out for vengeance but foolishly runs into a deceptive figure. The Prince (Joey King) has a score to settle with the White Death. Meanwhile, the Wolf (Bad Bunny) joins the fray after his truly horrific Mexican wedding. He’s also ready for serious comeuppance. Ladybug quickly realizes they’re all unwitting pawns in a dangerous game. Someone has packed the train with killers for an unknown purpose. He desperately wants to get off but can’t seem to escape the carnage.


Related: I Love My Dad Review: Patton Oswalt’s Delightfully Cringeworthy Catfishing Comedy

Cast of Bullet Train

Bullet Train introduces the cast with splashy entrances that flashes back to their dark pasts. The murderous montages are informative but don’t fill in every gap. The script doles out more critical information as the bodies pile up. Alliances bounce back and forth as everyone wonders who’s actually pulling the strings. The whodunit element works well as the audience becomes embroiled in a series of betrayals. You don’t have a sense of the plot’s true trajectory until the third act. The film builds to a showdown that delivers a huge action payoff.

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Bullet Train has complex characters that each contribute slices of devilish humor. Brad Pitt preaching self-help and understanding is an effective gag throughout. Brian Tyree Henry’s constant comparisons to Thomas & Friends aren’t as comical but play an important role in the story. There are a lot of moving parts. Leitch, who worked as Pitt’s stunt double for years, is clearly fond of his players. He gives everyone a chance to babble incessantly. I would have trimmed the dialogue to be more incisive.


The action scenes are worth the price of admission. Leitch has a great eye for mixing stylized set pieces with intimate fights. He knows when to go big and small. You never feel let down by his pacing. There’s always the right amount of adrenaline to keep your pulse pumping. Bullet Train is another feather in a skilled filmmaker’s cap. Watch out for A-list cameos and a mid-credits scene.

Bullet Train is a production of Columbia Pictures, Fuqua Films, and 87North Productions. It will be released theatrically on August 5th from Sony Pictures.

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Bullet Train Review: Brad Pitt Has A Blast In The Silly And Badass Action Comedy

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Bullet Train Review: Brad Pitt Has A Blast In The Silly And Badass Action Comedy

If orchestrated properly, with adjusted stakes, tone, and atmosphere, there can be a beautiful, symbiotic relationship between intense action and comedy. A hero pulling off a rapid and vicious series of blows against an opponent can be savage and dramatic in one context, but it can also be so deliriously awesome that an audience’s first reaction is to laugh. Fast paced martial arts can be used for wonderful physical humor (see: the legendary career of Jackie Chan), and the best examples provide dual layers of entertainment: you marvel at the skill in all the ass-kicking, and cackle at the creativity in the choreography.

This is a sweet spot that filmmaker David Leitch knows well. After peppering funny moments in John Wick and Atomic Blonde at the start of his directorial career, he brilliantly utilized the action/comedy weapon that is Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2, and crafted some excellent physicality with the unique styles of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. His latest, Bullet Train, is another effort that takes aim at that particular tonal target, this time with his most expansive ensemble yet, and it’s another success. With a sensibility that could be described as early Guy Ritchie with more specific action focus, it’s a movie that is both silly and skilled and inspires its primary star in particular to do energetic and engaging work.

Based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, the film weaves multiple narrative threads through the cars of the titular bullet train as it speeds through the country of Japan – all of the protagonists being killers with their own particular reason and motivation for being aboard. Ladybug (Brad Pitt), for example, is a hired gun who has been tasked by his handler (Sandra Bullock) to perform what sounds like a simple job: find a briefcase marked with a train sticker and steal it. What he doesn’t know, though, is that said briefcase belongs to a pair of British hit men named Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and that the contents include the recovered ransom for the kidnapped son (Logan Lerman) of a powerful crime lord known as The White Death.

Meanwhile, Kimura a.k.a. The Father (Andrew Koji) is on the bullet train because he is on a mission of vengeance – hunting down the person responsible for nearly killing his son by pushing the boy off of a building. What he doesn’t expect is that the individual he is looking for is a young woman identified as The Prince (Joey King), and that she has purposefully gotten him on the high speed rail with the intention of forcing him to execute an assassination attempt.

And while five killers sharing the space would be enough for most movies, Bullet Train actually has even more that pop in and surprise throughout the film’s runtime – and their roles are worth keeping as a secret pre-release.

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Bullet Train has a chaotic storyline, but the pieces properly connect as a fun puzzle.

Narratively speaking, Bullet Train is a messy movie to put together, as focus briskly ping-pongs between the different players, but everything stays in harmony as the film persistently finds ways to build on each protagonist’s arc. This is particularly cool later in the movie as different characters are drawn together from individual angles and instant conflict is generated from their simple interaction.

The film is at its best when it keeps things simple, but it does let things go off the rails at times (if you’ll pardon the pun). This is especially true as it gets into the third act and it tries to pull off stunts like one of the leads leaping from a platform on to the back of the train as it leaves a station; it’s both a problem for the “rules” of the universe and in its strained use of visual effects. The movie also frequently tries to get a bit too cute and Tarantino-esque with what are admittedly familiar-but-not-quite-stock characters – the most prominent example being an ongoing and quickly tiresome gag with Lemon explaining that he understands people through the lens of Thomas The Tank Engine.

Primarily, though, it’s a movie that is able to generate its entertainment with engaging and quippy dynamics between the members of the ensemble, both when they are talking out their issues and trying to kill one another.

David Leitch puts a lot of exciting and weird fights in a confined space, and is at its best when working with a “less is more” philosophy.

Coming from a stunt background, both as a performer and a coordinator, David Leitch’s bread and butter remains deftly and specifically choreographed action sequences, and Bullet Train proves to be a terrific challenge and opportunity for his skills. Regardless of where you are in the titular transport, space is not a luxury, and the best fights in the movie are those that are being fought only between the characters, but against the limitations provided by the location.

There are guns, knives and explosives in the mix, but Bullet Train also has some terrific “found item” moments that add spice and humor to the various showdowns, whether it’s a pocketed cell phone saving a character’s life from a blade, a laptop making for a solid cudgel, a water bottle making for a useful projectile, or a venomous snake showing up at a perfect moment.

Once again we see David Leitch work a special magic turning dramatic and comedic actors into badasses with slick and stylish moves, and while everyone shows off some terrific skills, it’s very much the Brad Pitt show at the end of the day.

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Brad Pitt’s joy in the role of Ladybug is palpable.

At the nexus of everything good in Bullet Train is Brad Pitt, who very clearly had a blast reuniting with David Leitch (who performed the actor’s stunts in films including Fight Club, The Mexican, Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Troy). He’s a joy to watch in action not just because of the talented craft he demonstrates in his physicality, but how he channels the psychology of the character. As we meet him, Ladybug is reluctantly getting back into his business following a number of important breakthroughs with his therapist, and Pitt does a fantastic job conveying that he doesn’t ever want to choose violence as a first answer – both via verbal pleas and defense-heavy moves. Action/comedy is a genre he should revisit a lot more often.

Bullet Train doesn’t aim to revolutionize hitman movies, but instead plays with a tongue-in-cheek vibe that lets you recognize the tropes and appreciate how the film plays with them. It’s a slick/goofy action movie that is both contained and wild, and a satisfying late summer release.

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Luck Review: A Spectacular Debut Film from Skydance Animation

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Luck Review: A Spectacular Debut Film from Skydance Animation

The world’s unluckiest woman enters a magical land to change the fortunes of a fellow orphan. Luck will make you smile and possibly shed a few tears. The big-budget, CGI animated fantasy shines a spotlight on needy children while telling a truly original story. An assortment of lucky critters and creatures dazzle in a spectacular setting. The highly imaginative narrative gives age-old superstitions a dynamic new spin. Luck is a brilliant first film from Skydance Animation.

Sam Greenfield (Eva Noblezada) reaches her eighteenth birthday with trepidation. She’s finally aged out of the foster care system. Sam never found her “forever family”. She spent her entire life living in orphanages. It doesn’t help that Sam has the worst luck. Everything she does or touches ends in abject disaster. Her only thoughts are for young Hazel (Adelynn Spoon), Sam’s roommate at the girls home. Sam has been set up with a job and tiny apartment. She has to stay in school and employed to remain housed.

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Sam’s first day at Marv’s (Lil Rel Howery) floral shop goes exactly as expected. She sadly eats dinner sitting on a sidewalk. Sam learns that Hazel’s weekend trip with a foster family was canceled. She gives half of her sandwich to a curious black cat. It scampers away but leaves a strange penny behind.

The following day is a revelation. Sam’s lucky penny changes everything. Her ecstatic mood sours when she loses the penny in spectacular fashion. Stewing on the sidewalk, Sam’s surprised when the black cat returns. She’s astonished when Bob (Simon Pegg) asks for his penny. The “travel penny” is the only way a creature from the Land of the Luck stays safe in the human world. She follows an unnerved Bob back through the portal to the Land of Luck. Sam has to find another lucky penny to help Hazel. Bob reluctantly agrees, but they have to be careful. Misdeeds end up in banishment to Bad Luck.

Related: Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octaine Thrill Ride

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The Land of Luck

The Land of Luck is an absolute joy to behold. Leprechauns, cats, pigs, and rabbits, lucky creatures, are the bureaucrats tasked with spreading good fortune. Bringing Sam in such a place is a recipe for absolute chaos. Bob, and his leprechaun assistant Gerry’s (Colin O’Donoghue), efforts to contain Sam’s bad luck will have audiences in stitches. I’m still chuckling at Sam’s “Latvian leprechaun” disguise; their harebrained excuse for why she’s so much bigger than everyone else.

Luck’s serious themes are artfully addressed. Sam’s lonely childhood, and her desperate efforts to change Hazel’s, brings a melancholic touch to the narrative. The film reminds us to not take love and family for granted. Every kid deserves care, nurturing, and a safe place to grow. It shouldn’t take luck or chance for a child to find a “forever home”.

Insert sigh here. Recent headlines concerning John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars) will undoubtedly cloud this film’s release. The genius storyteller and animator behind Pixar’s success left to head Skydance Animation after awful “Me Too” allegations. He’s brought his incredible talent to Luck, and it shows. This wonderful film deserves to be judged on its own merits. Sometimes we must divorce ourselves from art and the personality of the artist.

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Luck is a production of Skydance Animation and Apple Original Films. It will have an exclusive Apple TV+ premiere on August 5th.

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