Screen Time

with Marisa Patwa

SEPTEMBER CINEMA OFFERS UP ENGAGING SUPERHEROES AND VICIOUS ASSASSINS

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (9/3)

There hasn’t been a movie trailer in a while that has given me an adrenaline rush quite like the one for Shang-Chi which Marvel dropped a few months back on April 19 - which just happens to be the birthday of star Simu Liu, who plays the titular role. This looks to be a truly funny, modern, thrilling and cinematically gorgeous superhero film unlike one we’ve ever seen. Shang-Chi has been born with incredible abilities, what I would call the supernatural martial arts. He’s tried to avoid taking over the cutthroat throne of his father’s kingdom, but he can no longer hide out trying to be a normal human, playing darts in a bar. It’s time to live up to his legacy. This is where comedian Awkwafina comes in as one of his friends. She is mind-blown to discover he’s a part of the superhero world. Michelle Yeoh joins as a guardian to a mythical city. Meng'er Zhang adds some fighting fun as estranged sister Xialing. But I’m most interested to see the showdown between Shang-Chi and his dad. After all, family matters.

KATE (9/10)

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is one of the most underrated actresses of our generation. I first spotted her talent in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007) and she continued to shine in Scott Pilgrim Versus the World (2010) and the more recent Birds of Prey (2020). Now, she’s getting her own starring role in the Netflix feature Kate as a vicious assassin. The actionpacked film comes from the producers of Atomic Blonde. In this femme fatale story, Kate is shot with a poison that gives her less than 24 hours to track down who attacked her and kill them before she dies herself. Woody Harrelson plays her spy guru guiding Kate as she goes on a kill mission. Newcomer Miku Martineau also joins as Ani, the comedic relief and heart of the movie. Even though she is orphaned thanks to Kate killing her bad parents, she supports her until the end. Here's hoping there is an antidote.

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (9/24)

Back for round two as Eddie Brock - aka Venom - is action star Tom Hardy. We last saw Hardy on the big screen as the teeth-y, slithery alien superhero in 2018 when he romanced Michelle Williams as Anne Weying and battled Riz Ahmed’s evil Carlton Drake. It’s exciting to have him back with a brand new villain - Carnage, played by Woody Harrelson. Brock is a failed journalist who hopes to resurrect his career by selling a nail-biting interview with serial killer Cletus Kasady, also played by Harrelson. But after Kasady escapes prison, he too becomes host to an alien symbiote known as Carnage. And with equal powers, the two must battle it out - because only one creepy alien creature can be prowling around in the city. For Carnage, it’s to cause destruction; for Venom, it's to save the world, and maybe his career.