The Mule
Mortal Engines PG-13
It’s 1,700 years in the future and large cities are nomadic steampunk machines. Mounted atop enormous tanks, they survive by gobbling up villages and Earth’s remaining resources. Teenage Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) survives off the land. She is tracking Valentine (Hugo Weaving), one of mobile London’s elite, because he killed her mother. To bring him down, Hester teams up with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an outcast historian, and Anna Fang (Jihae), an outlaw airplane pilot. Hester, in turn, is targeted by Valentine’s cyborg assassin (Stephen Lang). Conceived in the ‘80s and intended for adults by author Philip Reeve, this multi-book tale was scooped up by Scholastic Books after Reeve rewrote it for young readers. Peter Jackson wrote the screenplay of book one with his visual effects creator, Christian Rivers, directing. Up to eight sequels may follow.
The Mule R
Inspired by a New York Times article, “The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule,” Clint Eastwood (age 88) portrays an elderly, yet prolific drug courier. The real mule sought to save his daylily farm from foreclosure, then became enamored of three figures wages per trip. Well-versed in playing the curmudgeon, Eastwood works from a script by Nick Schenk who creates a lived-in history for Earl Stone. Judging from similar Eastwood directed/starring films such as Blood Work and Gran Torino, we’ve every reason to expect an engaging character and story.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse PG
Taking a new direction, this animated Spiderman film bows from Marvel’s multiverse comics. A portal allows Peter Parker/Spiderman (voiced by Jake Johnson) to meet and train a teenager, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), from another dimension. Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) also finds the portal, throwing in with the guys who are soon joined by various other spideys. They weave a collective web to defeat universe-hopping villain Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). Made by Sony Animation, this well-received adaptation uses jokes to stick to audiences, then hangs on via a constant stream of attitude.
