By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
After the climactic tragedy of “Avengers: Endgame,” in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” it seems that 16-year-old insecure Peter Parker — aka Spider-Man — is left to battle baddies on his own.
His story begins as Midtown High School’s TV station broadcasts an “in memoriam” for Tony Stark and other Marvel Cinematic Universe superheroes who died fighting Thanos. That incident is referred to as “the Blip” in which half the population disappeared and then reappeared five years later.
Since Peter and his pals — Ned (Jacob Batalon), MJ (Zendaya), Betty (Angourie Rice) and Flash (Tony Revolori) — were blipped, they have to repeat their sophomore year, alongside hunky Brad (Remy Hill), who was five years their junior but is now is Peter’s rival for MJ’s affection.
Just as everyone prepares for summer field trip to Europe, Peter is summoned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Peter’s inner conflict is immediately apparent. He wants to lead a normal life, playing with his friends, and, maybe, getting a kiss from MJ atop the Eiffel Tower. But as Tony Stark’s protégé, duty calls.
Spider-Man needs to join Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) — aka Mysterio, a very powerful, spandex-clad warrior from an alternate reality/parallel Earth — to fight an evil force known as the Elementals.
From that moment on, Spidey’s trans-Atlantic trip is fraught with deception and betrayal — on many fronts — as he swings through Venice, Prague and London. Meanwhile, back home, Tony Stark’s assistant Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) has taken up with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
Hesitant Tom Holland is so disarming as the web-slinger that Marvel may churn out more movies just for him. (It’s remarkably easy to erase Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s previous incarnations.)
Working with returning screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, director Jon Watts cleverly balances adolescent angst with lighthearted banter and heartfelt moments, punctuated by adrenaline blasts from Marvel’s high-tech visual effects.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” spins an exuberant, entertaining 8. Wait around for two additional post-credit scenes.
“The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is actor Jimmie Fails’ personal story about reclaiming a $4 million Victorian house that he believes his African-American grandfather built in 1946 in the Fillmore district near the Golden Gate in San Francisco, becoming known as “the first black man in San Francisco.”
Riding around on a skateboard, Jimmie tells everyone that — since his grandfather built the distinctive, multistory structure after returning from World War II — it should rightfully be his. Currently homeless, he lives with buddy Montgomery (Jonathan Majors) in his blind Grandfather’s (Danny Glover) small house.
Once a week, he and Mont, a gifted artist/playwright, visit the now-rundown mansion to paint the red exterior trim, despite protests from the current occupants. It’s obvious that, although he hasn’t lived there in many years, Jimmie’s identity is intricately tied to this particular place by family lore.
When the elderly owner dies, Jimmie and Mont move in, establishing their own concept of ‘squatters’ rights.’ And when a historic architectural tour stops outside, Jimmie informs the guide that what he’s telling the Segway-riding tourists about the house’s history is wrong.
Totally obsessed beyond reason, defiant Jimmie convinces Mont that he must claim his family legacy in the “Harlem of the West,” providing a sense of continuity that’s been lost through gentrification. Eventually, however, fact overwhelms fiction.
Based on Jonathan Majors’ story with director Joe Talbot, it’s scripted by Talbot and Rob Reichert. With cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra, they dreamily explore interlaced themes of fractured families, lost roots, bonds of friendship and the socio-economic concept of ‘home’ in modern urban culture.
The film’s weak point is the black jive jargon that passes for insightful dialogue, particularly involving a group of belligerent black men who hang out on the street, acting like a Greek chorus.
On the Granger Gauge, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is a poetic, subtly poignant 7 — about abandoning the past and moving on.
“Child’s Play,” the new installment in the Chucky franchise offers a different origin story for the maniacal doll. Instead of the voodoo curse that sent the soul of a Chicago-based serial killer into a child’s toy that appeared in seven films (1988 to 2017), now there’s a more technological explanation.
Kaslan Industries is a huge company, like Amazon, that operates a sweatshop in Vietnam where AI-enhanced “Buddi” dolls are assembled. An angry, abused worker deliberately changes one Buddi doll’s computer-chip safety settings by deleting its moral programming (relating to learning and violence) before being thrown off the factory roof.
This defective, deranged doll (voiced by Mark Hamill) winds up stateside in a Walmart-like superstore, landing in the hands of a struggling single mom Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza), who gives it to her lonely, adolescent Andy (Gabriel Michael Bateman), who is coping with an auditory deficiency.
The ginger-haired doll seems all-too-eager to become Andy’s best friend/constant companion, helping him with his homework and joining him when he watches Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.”
Soon, that rogue smart-doll becomes out-of-control Chucky, who can connect to all of the other Kaslan Industry robotic devices: drones, cameras, modem software, TVs, automobiles, etc. — wreaking carnage everywhere.
Eventually, a local detective (Brian Tyree Henry), whose mother lives down the hall, becomes involved.
Based on the mean-spirited character created by Don Mancini (who is not involved with this re-imagined concept), the campy screenplay is credited to Tyler Burton Smith with Norwegian director Lars Klevberg (“Polaroid”) at the helm.
Odd coincidence: “Toy Story 4” was released on the same day; both are about living toys belonging to a boy named Andy.
On the Granger Gauge, “Child’s Play” is a stylized, slasher 6, as the savage saga of the sociopathic doll continues.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
