By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Aptly timed for the holiday season, the boldly animated adventure “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” should delight comic book fans of all ages.
“I always find a way to come back,” says Marvel’s aging Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson), which forecasts his relationship with Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), an Afro-Latino teenager living in Brooklyn with his parents (voiced by Luna Lauren Velez & Brian Tyree Henry).
When his imprudent Uncle Aaron (voiced by Mahershala Ali) takes him deep into the subway system, Miles is bitten by a glowing radioactive spider, turning him green overnight. Suddenly, bewildered Miles finds he’s sticking to whatever he touches.
But could there be two Spider-Men? Why not?
Initially, Parker is reluctant to be Miles’ mentor, but he sees something special in this savvy, biracial adolescent. And because of a glitch in the space-time continuum, web-slingers appear as Spider-guys, Spider-gals, even a Spider-Ham (voiced by John Mulaney), known on Larval Earth as Peter Porker.
So who’s the villain? It’s Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber), who can access alternative universes.
Based on Marvel comics’ characters, the irreverent, cleverly chaotic screenplay is credited to Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, who directs along with Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsay. Spinoffs, anyone?
Plus. there’s Aunt May (voiced by Lily Tomlin), who lost her own Spidey (voiced by Chris Pine); strong, sensible Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld); and Spider-Man Noir (voiced by Nicolas Cage) with his Rubik’s cube.
“Anyone can wear the mask; you can wear the mask,” Miles concludes. And almost everybody does.
FYI: In a cameo, Stan Lee sells Miles his first Spider-Man costume, assuring him, “They all fit — eventually.” There’s a concluding tribute to recently deceased cartoonists Lee and Steve Ditko — with a nod to the past: “Approved by the Comic Books Authority,” citing the self-regulatory agency that once banned horror & monster stories.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a splashy, psychedelic 8 — appealing particularly to those well versed in Spider-Man lore.
This based-on-a-true crime drama, “The Mule” is the 37th film that Clint Eastwood has directed, and he stars as a crusty curmudgeon who starts running drugs for a Mexican cartel to pay off his debts.
An avid horticulturalist, Earl Stone (Eastwood) has always spent more time cultivating his flowers than with his family. As a result, he’s continually disappointed his ex-wife (Dianne Wiest) and bitterly disillusioned daughter (Alison Eastwood).
For years, Earl supported himself by growing, hybridizing and selling day lilies but now the internet has ruined his business. When his house is repossessed and he can’t come up with the money he’s promised for his granddaughter’s (Taissa Farmiga) wedding, Earl knows he needs to do something — quick.
That opportunity arises when, because of his ‘perfect driving’ record (no tickets — ever!), he’s recruited to transport a package from Illinois to Texas. Unknowingly rattling along in his beat-up truck, he enjoys pop music on the radio, stopping occasionally for a pulled-pork sandwich and female companionship.
Since no one would ever suspect this sociable old codger of cocaine-smuggling, one successful ‘run’ leads to another, and Earl becomes known dependable “Tata,” Spanish for Grandpa. He enjoys having cash to spend and, single-handedly, finances the rebuilding of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars hall.
But when Earl is invited by the Sinaloa Cartel’s kingpin (Andy Garcia) to his lavish Mexican hacienda, it arouses the suspicion of the boss’s #2 man, Julio (Ignacio Serricchio), who insists on accompanying him on his next ‘big’ run.
Meanwhile, Chicago-based DEA agents (Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena) are urged by their quota-hungry superior (Laurence Fishburne) to capture this elusive criminal.
Inspired by Sam Dolnick’s 2014 New York Times Magazine article about W. W. II vet Leo Sharp, it’s adapted as a character study by Nick Schenk, who makes Earl as charming and compelling as possible. Unfortunately, the supporting characterizations lack similar depth, diluting the emotional impact.
On the Granger Gauge, “The Mule” is a suspenseful 7, named for the stubborn swindler it depicts.
Although it’s too scary for tiny tots, “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” is Andy Serkis’ hybrid live-action/digitized version of Rudyard Kipling’s exciting, adventure classic.
Narrated by the mystical python Kaa (voiced by Cate Blanchett), it begins with an insatiable tiger, Shere Khan (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), killing the parents of a baby boy. Abandoned in the verdant Indian jungle, he’s saved by the panther Bagheera (voiced by Christian Bale).
Bagheera delivers the orphaned ‘man-cub’ to a family of wolves, who adopt him as one of their own, promising protection from menacing Shere Khan, despite objections from their neighbors.
Growing up as part of the pack, wide-eyed, energetic Mowgli (Rohan Chand) befriends Bhoot (voiced by Louis Ashbourne Serkis), a bullied albino wolf-cub, as they train with the bear Baloo (voiced by Andy Serkis), for a pivotal race that will determine Mowgli’s future.
In the meantime, Shere Khan is savagely slaughtering sacred cows that belong to the nearby villagers although a hunter, John Lockwood (Matthew Rhys), has vowed to shoot him. That coincides with Mowgli’s seizure by the rapacious monkey colony and his subsequent expulsion from the jungle.
When Mowgli is captured and caged by Lockwood, pragmatic Bagheera instructs him to try to earn the hunter’s trust, but inevitable betrayal lies ahead.
Episodically adapted by Callie Kloves, it’s directed by Andy Serkis, best known for his motion-capture work as Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” and Caesar in “Planet of the Apes” — and unrelated to Disney’s 2016 “The Jungle Book.”
According to Serkis: “Ours was never going to be a bring-the-whole-family film. We wanted to make it more visceral and have you be able to smell the jungle.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” is a gritty, edgy 6, rated PG-13 because of intense violence.
(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.)
