SPIDER-MAN: Across the Spider-Verse Webs on Bluray

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) is Spider-Woman and lives on Earth-65. Dad and police Cpt. George Stacy (Shea Whigham) has no idea what his daughter has been doing. She is still dealing with the death of her friend Peter Parker. Now, Gwen meets Vulture and is surprised when Miguel (Oscar Isaac) and Jess (Issa Rae) portal in to help her. While it is happening, Capt. Stacy corners Spider-Woman and his life is about to change as Miguel helps when Gwen needed it the most.

On Earth-1610, Miles Morales (Hameik Moore) is now dealing with his own problems coming from the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). The Spot blames Miles for everything in his life and through their spidey-match. When Gwen reconnects with Miles, they team up with Spider-Man Pavitr (Karan Soni) and Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya). The Spot and Miles share a vision that is going to hurt people and the collider that allows this travel is falling apart.

Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) meets Miles, Gwen, Hobie and Miguel as they piece together what is happening with these canon events. So much so that the history of all the Spiders is causing one thing to happen to another in different times and eventually Peter Parker.

In New York, the city is being overrun by crime and the Spidey-Society find one another to try, it is Miles that is lost and Gwen assembles a team to find him because that is what the Spidey-Society does!

Steinfeld gives her Spider-Woman a strength and attitude that is needed to be amazing for this role. I appreciate what she is doing here and my granddaughter loves the character of Gwen. Whigham as George is dealing with his police work and the shock that follows in his family because of it.

Moore as Miles is a saucy teen who is dealing with the duality of life. One is being Miles the kid who goes to school and has friends etc., the other is being the and only Spider-Man. Moore gives his character the ease of a kid who really should be full of intensity. Isaac as Miguel and Rae as Jess make an amazing animated pair with their mixture of wit and making sure that working together is the most important thing.

Soni as Pavitr has a strong sense of responsibilities of being Spider-Man. It is fantastic to see the representation of this character and done so well by Soni. Kaluuya as Hobie knows what must be done because none of them are going to allow the bad guys to get away with universal craziness.

Schwartzman has moments of wit and sarcasm until he remembers why he is the way he is and then frustration turns to anger towards Spider-Man. Johnson as Parker has moved on with his life and once the Spider-Society comes to him, his days of being Spider-Man are before him.

Other cast includes Mahershala Ali as Aaron Davis, Greta Lee as Lyla, Jorma Taccone as Vulture, Jharrel Jermone as Prowler. Brian Tyree Henry as Jeff Morales, Lauren Velez as Rio Morales.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Material includes Obscure Spiders and Easter Eggs, Deleted Scene: Miguel Calling, I’mma Do My Own Thing” Interdimensional Destiny, Across the Worlds: Designing New Dimensions, Designing Spiders and Spots, Scratches, Scores and the Music of the Multiverse, Escape from Spider-Society, Across the Comics-Verse, Lyric Videos, and Film Commentary.

Also included on DVD are Creating the Ultimate Spider-Man Movie, Raising a Hero and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Cast.

SPIDER-MAN: Across the Spider-Verse is visually stunning which adds such a richness in and of itself. The story is a complex one and filled with twists and turns which is what makes the universe jumps so interesting.

When over 100 animators come together to create a hand drawn affected through computer animation, well, there is going to be eye candy for all. It is such a wild ride through every ‘frame’ of this film and I enjoyed it front start to finish.

Knowing that this is my son’s universe of comics, I asked if he felt it was close to the source material and his face had a big grin. He informed me that seeing it brought him back to a time when he spent hours reading comic books. That tells me the film has truly made him happy. Isn’t that what it is all about? 

In the end – they must band together across the spider-verse!

 

Disney+ Brings SOUL

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on Disney+ from directors Peter Docter, Kemp Powers is the musical life that reaches down to the SOUL.

Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a high school music teacher that is still trying to bring his love of jazz into a profession. When former student Dez (Donnell Rawlings) calls to let him know that sax player Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) is looking for a piano man, Joe is beyond thrilled.

Making his way to the club, Joe plays his heart out and Dorothea tells him to come back in a suit to play with her quartet that very night. Believing his world is about to change forever, he has no idea how right he is. After a little accident, Joe opens his eyes to discover he is not quite sure where he is!

On a long ramp leading toward the light and the Great Beyond, Joe comes to understand that he is not part of the world any longer and he is not about to take that lightly. After another tumble, he finds himself surrounded but giggles and cuteness. Learning from the Counselor’s Jerry (Alice Braga), Jerry (Richard Ayoade), Jerry (Fortune Feimster), and Jerry (Zenobia Shroff) and Jerry (Wes Studi) that he has landed in the Great Before, they think Joe is there to train souls and given 22 (Tina Fey), a soul that has had no luck in learning anything from anyone.

Joe’s job is to help 22 find her spark that will get Joe an Earth badge so he can return. After trying again and again, Joe is wondering if maybe there is a good reason 22 never made it to Earth. That is when Joe and 22 meet Moonwind (Graham Norton), who has the ability to be both on earth and in the Great Before to rescue lost souls.

Agreeing to help, Joe and 22 make a jump back to Earth where 22 becomes Joe and Joe becomes a cat! About this time, the soul accountant Terry (Rachel House) realizes that the soul count is off, and he is not about to have that! Now the race is on for Terry to correct the count, Joe and 22 to find their way back to themselves and Joe to make it to the performance by nightfall.

This soul thing is pretty complicated!

 

Foxx as Joe plays an endearing man who has a unique love of jazz but can only find a job as a high school music teacher. When given the chance to do what he has always wanted, he takes it and finally sees his musical future. Foxx gives Joe lovability, humor, an outlook that transcends his Before and After and the something we can all relate to – dealing with a Mom we are afraid to say “this is what I want for my life” without chickening out.

 

Fey as 22 is as hyper as a soul can get! This soul is not as different from Joe as she would like to think. There are fears here as well but covered up sass and pride in never having been sucked into the vortex to Earth. Fey is charming, funny and a stubbornness that keeps her from joining the human race. Once she has a chance to experience life on Earth, there is a change in both 22 and Joe that is so very sweet.

 

Shout out to Phylicia Rashad as Mom Libba who wants the best for her son and believes the life her husband had was a hard one and does not want it for her son. Basset as Dorothea sees the potential in Joe, but she just does not have the time to deal with him in a hospital gown on the city streets. Norton as Moonwind just had me cracking up from start to finish but if I was a lost soul, I’d be thrilled to have his ship pull up and rescue me.

 

Shout out to all the Jerry’s for being compassionate, understanding and gentle spirits in the midst of Joe and 22’s madness. House as Terry is another character that I just love with the spirit to seek out the missing soul because one slot open on the abacas just won’t do!

 

Other cast include Questlove as Curley, Cora Champommier as Connie, Margo Hall as Melba, Daveed Diggs as Paul, Rhodessa Jones as Lulu, Peggy Flood as Marge, June Squibb as Gerel, Cathy Cavadini as Dreamerwind, Dorian Lockett as Dorian, Esther Chae as Miho, Elisapie Isaac as Miali, and Marcus Shelby as Ray Gardner.

 

Disney+ is the subscription home streaming entertainment with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. There are exclusive originals with new feature films, shows, short form content, documentaries and actions series such as THE MANDALORIAN. For more information please visit www.disneyplus.com.

 

SOUL is everything we have come to expect from Disney and so much more. During this time of anxiety, this film gives us all a chance to cuddle up with our family and be taken away into a story of love, life, family and how we all need to be true to ourselves.

 

The film is hilarious, heartwarming, lovely, and vivid in color. The story is complex but not in a way that is hard for children to follow. My granddaughter was riveted the moment SOUL came on the screen because she also has a love of music. She, along with the entire family, felt for Joe and just love 22 and the antics she manages to cause.

 

That is what a Disney film does, transports us all into another realm of possibilities with hope, love, and the continual belief that we need to try to do the things that bring us joy – and right now that is top on my family’s list. As we all look forward to this new year, it is my hope we all can do it with a little bit of SOUL.

 

In the end – everybody has a soul and Joe is about to find his!