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Movie Review

Double the Will Smith is not double the fun in Gemini Man

Alex Bentley
Oct 10, 2019 | 4:45 pm

The film career that Will Smith has had over the past 25 years is at once enviable and questionable. He was as big as they get during his ‘90s run of Bad Boys, Independence Day, and Men in Black. Thanks to a pair of Oscar nominations in the 2000s, he has maintained his A-list status despite questionable movie choices and diminishing box office returns.

In a way, it seems as if Smith is trying to revive his superstar past with Gemini Man, in which he plays Henry Brogan, a hit man looking to retire after years of working for a shadowy government agency. But the government objects to him walking away, and Henry is soon on the run with fellow agent Danny Zakarewski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), hopscotching around the world to avoid being assassinated.

Henry soon finds out that that person sent to dispatch him is … him, or a clone of him created by Gemini, a government project run by the arrogant Clay Verris (Clive Owen). Junior, as Clay calls him, has all the skills of Henry with the advantage of being 25 years younger. It takes all of Henry’s wits and wisdom to not only avoid being killed, but also to try to convince Junior that he’s playing for the wrong side.

On the surface, Gemini Man has a lot going for it. It features Smith reuniting with uber producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee, and is co-written by Game of Thrones co-creator David Benioff. So the fact that the film is as bland and uninteresting as it is comes as somewhat of a surprise. The filmmakers construct a movie that includes all the hallmarks of a great action movie, but with none of the necessary momentum.

The story is the usual action mishmash of double crosses, supremely easy worldwide travel, and buddy comedy. None of it makes a lick of sense, especially when it comes to the various government agencies involved in the plot. The only cliché the writers decline to explore is a May-December romance between Smith and Winstead.

And then there’s the matter of the digitally de-aged Smith. The technology is all the rage these days, showing up everywhere from Marvel movies to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. It’s still very much a hit-and-miss technique, and it misses to a huge degree here. The concept of the character is fun, but in practice it looks less like the Fresh Prince and more like a creepy doll that’s been animated. It’s next to impossible to get over the uncanny valley feeling when looking at Junior.

The actual real-life version of Smith remains a charming performer, and if he weren’t saddled with playing off of a fake-looking younger version of himself, he might have come off better. As it stands, it feels like he’s just going through the motions, relying on nostalgia rather than making the role his own. Winstead, who’ll co-star in 2020’s Birds of Prey, is the more intriguing action star, while Owen is creaky and unconvincing.

Gemini Man is yet another underwhelming movie led by Smith, made doubly so because he also plays his own clone. Big ideas can sometimes get in the way of good judgment, and despite all the talent involved, hardly anything about this movie works.

Will Smith confronts Will Smith in Gemini Man.

Will Smith in Gemini Man
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Will Smith confronts Will Smith in Gemini Man.
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San Antonio museum's popular Sips and Sounds series returns with night of Norteño music

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75-year-old San Antonian prepares for 75th marathon, plus more top stories

Hannah J. Frías
Oct 29, 2022 | 12:00 pm
Richard Newman San Antonio marathon
Photo by Nik Newman
The New York City Marathon on November 6 will be his milestone marathon.

Editor’s note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. 75-year-old San Antonio native prepares to run his 75th marathon. The New York City Marathon on November 6 will be his milestone marathon.

2. New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park. Hemisfair Park continues to grow with this development.

3. Premier wellness destination Canyon Ranch sets sights on the Hill Country for new resort. Canyon Ranch is coming to the Texas Hill Country with a new destination spa in the Austin area

4. Texas remains a hot spot for international homebuyers, shows new report. The Lone Star State remains the No. 3 U.S. market for international buyers.

5. 8 things to know in San Antonio food right now: Neighborhood bar wiggles back to Broadway. The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar has reopened after a prolonged hiatus.

news/entertainment

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get San Antonio intel delivered daily.

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San Antonio museum's popular Sips and Sounds series returns with night of Norteño music

New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park

Premier wellness destination Canyon Ranch sets sights on the Hill Country for new resort

Way out West

Texas' Big Bend named one of the world's must-see destinations for 2023

Hannah J. Frías
Oct 28, 2022 | 4:26 pm
Big Bend National Park
Photo by Adan Guerrero on Unsplash

Big Bend made National Geographic's Best of the World 2023 list.

The pandemic took a toll on pretty much ever industry, especially food and travel. But some destinations suffered less than others: Big Bend National Park out in far west Texas became a hot spot for road trippers from Texas and beyond. To that end, National Geographic Travel included the vast natural wonder in its recent Best of the World 2023 list.

The annual list rounds up 25 global destinations "under the radar, ahead of the curve, and ready for you to start exploring," according to the article. National Geographic editors frame the list within five categories: Community, Nature, Culture, Family, and Adventure.

Big Bend landed in the Nature category, "5 wildly underrated natural escapes for 2023," and it's in good company: The list also includes the Azores, Botswana, Slovenia, and the Scottish Highlands.

According to a release, the list is themed around "travel destinations and experiences that leverage the benefits of tourism to strengthen their local communities, natural and built environments, and sense of place." Big Bend fits right into that criteria, attracting tourism to small-town communities near the park such as Marfa, Alpine, Presidio, Marathon, and Fort Davis, which all benefit from the influx of people passing through to Big Bend.

The park itself welcomed over 394,000 visitors in 2020, about 15 percent less than 2019. 2021 more than made up for that deficit, though: Big Bend welcomed a record 581,000 visitors as travelers continued to seek open spaces and natural wonders.

Apart from contributing to the local economy, the National Geographic article touts the park's locale in a "remote and arid part of west Texas," which "nurtures more cactus species than any other national park, as well as birds such as roadrunners and bright yellow Scott’s orioles, and mammals such as javelina."

So pack the car and plan your next trip out west, and don't forget some of our top tips for off-the-grid adventures in the area.

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San Antonio museum's popular Sips and Sounds series returns with night of Norteño music

New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park

Premier wellness destination Canyon Ranch sets sights on the Hill Country for new resort

Movie Review

Real-world events make the message of Call Jane all the more relevant

Alex Bentley
Oct 28, 2022 | 1:12 pm
Real-world events make the message of Call Jane all the more relevant
Photo by Wilson Webb / courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through much of American society, including Hollywood. For years since the initial 1973 decision legalizing abortion, the issue has remained a part of many stories in movies and on TV, especially as conservative states started to enact more and more restrictions on when and where a woman could get the procedure.

When the cast and crew of Call Jane started making their film in 2021, they likely thought they were just showing an interesting chapter in history and underscoring the importance of a woman’s right to choose. Instead, they find themselves inadvertently smack dab in the renewed debate over abortion, and perhaps demonstrating that history is repeating itself.

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

Photo by Wilson Webb / courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

The film is a fictional story about Joy (Elizabeth Banks), a middle-class woman in 1968 Chicago who has a husband, Will (Chris Messina), and a teenage daughter, Charlotte (Grace Edwards). She’s also pregnant, but she has a heart condition that necessitates terminating the pregnancy to save her life. When the (all-male) board at her local hospital denies her request for an emergency abortion, she starts searching out other options.

After being advised of a number of poor-to-terrible choices, she finds a flier with a message to “Call Jane” if you’re pregnant and anxious. That leads her to a relatively safe place to get the procedure done illegally, one organized by a group of activist women headed by Virginia (Sigourney Weaver). Soon, Joy finds herself drawn into being part of the group, a role that becomes increasingly larger the more she learns about the women who need its services.

Directed by Phyllis Nagy and written by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, the film is a surface-level examination of the abortion issue, but still an effective one. The shocking initial choices Joy faces – convincing psychiatrists that she is suicidal or “accidentally” falling down a staircase to induce a miscarriage – are now ones that may be a reality again for many women, giving the film even more heft than it already had.

The film is at its best when Joy is with the organizing group, as it depicts a diverse group of women – including a nun! – who are all there for one purpose: To help other women. The group has its disagreements, like what type of women should get priority treatment, but the dedication as a whole to the larger cause has a hopeful vibe despite the obstacles they collectively face.

The story falters a bit when it focuses on Joy’s home life. She explains her time away from home as her taking art classes, an excuse that’s laughable given the hours she spends with the group. The filmmakers try to create drama with Will complaining about the lack of home-cooked meals, Charlotte always on the verge of discovering her mom’s secret, and their neighbor Lana (Kate Mara) paying a bit too much attention to Will, but none of it lands compared with the main story.

Banks has tended to be a comedic actor in her 20+ year career, so it takes a bit of time to accept her as the buttoned-down character she’s supposed to be. But once Joy joins the group, Banks’ performance blossoms, especially in scenes with Weaver. Weaver is a grounding force for the film as a whole, feeling exactly like the type of woman who could lead a rebel group like this.

Call Jane is not a firebrand of a film, likely because the filmmakers didn’t know it needed to be. But its release at this particular moment in time can still be interpreted as a call for those who believe in its message to not give up the fight, even if right now the world seems to be against them.

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Call Jane opens in theaters on October 28.

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San Antonio museum's popular Sips and Sounds series returns with night of Norteño music

New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park

Premier wellness destination Canyon Ranch sets sights on the Hill Country for new resort

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