The holidays are here, and among some of the other decisions you might be making with your loved ones is deciding what movie to watch to heighten your Christmas spirit. Thankfully, CASSIUS is here to help with another installment of our Holiday Movie Guide, featuring Jungle Cruise and Home Sweet Home Alone.
Once again, the intrepid trio of Jameer Pond, Gray Rizzy, and Stefon Bishop has stepped up to give viewers a look at two films that might fit the bill for your feast of holiday feature viewing. The first film they take on is Disney’s Jungle Cruise, inspired by the famous adventure ride in their theme parks, starring Dwayne “The Rock Johnson and Emily Blunt. Jungle Cruise is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, best known for directing Liam Neeson action flicks like Run All Night. Johnson stars as the grizzled Amazon riverboat captain Frank Wolff, who is hired by botanist Dr. Lily Houghton (Blunt) to find the fabled Tree of Life so she can use its healing powers. Standing in their way are undead Spanish conquistadors led by Aguierre (Edgar Ramirez), and a German prince (Jesse Plemons) who will stop at nothing to find the Tree of Life for themselves.
Stefon found it to be a great film, while jokingly noting that he didn’t quite know what to expect. “I mean, it started off with the Spanish conquistadors…always Spanish conquistadors running up in somebody’s country trying to do something.” Rizzy picked up on it, noting that as a common trope in adventure films. Jameer appreciated the fact that Lily’s character, for all of her spirit had one relatable flaw – being unable to swim.
The second film, Home Sweet Home Alone, is the sixth entry in the series made popular by Macaulay Culkin’s star turn back in 1990. This version, produced by Disney+, is directed by Dan Mazer who’s worked with comedian Sasha Baron Cohen. The film begins focusing on a couple, the Mackenzies (played by Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper) who are struggling to the point that they may sell their home. They meet young Max Mercer (played by Archie Yates) who finds out about a rare doll that Jeff has in his possession during an open house visit. When Jeff finds the doll missing, he assumes Max stole it. By that point, Max is home alone, having been accidentally left behind by his family who went on a trip to Tokyo, Japan. The Mackenzies find out and plan to break into Max’s home to steal back the doll, where hilarity ensues.
The crew’s assessment of the film starts off with a bang as Rizzy quips that this might’ve been five too many films in the Home Alone series. Another funny observation comes courtesy of Jameer, who wonders why there are nine kids over at the Mercers. “Are they the Wayans family?!!” he says. They also point out a key cameo going back to the earlier films in the series.
Check out the full video above and let us know what you think in the comments.
