Movie Review

Deadpool 2 adds heart and doubles down on snark and mayhem

When Deadpool came out in 2016, it filled two voids. It was an action-packed, hilarious R-rated film, something that has been in short supply in the 21st century. It also allowed a Marvel superhero to get down and dirty in his pursuit of justice, something that the carefully-crafted Marvel Cinematic Universe would never do.

Of course, the downside of filling that void is that there are now huge expectations for the follow-up, Deadpool 2. The surprise this time around is that the film actually attempts to tug at your heartstrings in addition to delivering copious amounts of comedy, bullets, and blood.

Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is completely happy doing his lone wolf thing until an upheaval in his personal life and the appearance of a time-traveling mutant named Cable (Josh Brolin) forces him to try to put together a team. Cable is on the trail of Russell (Julian Dennison), a young boy with fire-starting powers who will go on to kill Cable’s family in the future.

Were this any other superhero movie, the plot would proceed in a straightforward fashion, with Deadpool gathering his team one-by-one and working up to a final showdown with Cable. But as written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Reynolds (making his screenwriting debut), the film nearly always zags where you expect it to zig, keeping the audience on its collective toes the entire time.

Nothing is sacred in the world of Deadpool, as the film once again takes aim at the X-Men, Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Comics universe, itself, and much more. Anyone who thought they had used up the capacity to make fun of those things in the first film is sorely mistaken, as the writing team and director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) up the ante exponentially with a barrage of jokes and insults.

Unexpectedly, they also balance out the craziness with a degree of heartfelt emotion. Wilson’s relationship with his girlfriend, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), plays a big part in the film, as does the somewhat paternal feelings he acquires for Russell. Naturally, these storylines are surrounded by graphic violence and other lewdness, but in a movie like Deadpool 2, it qualifies as earnestness.

By signing on as a writer in addition to his acting and producing duties this time around, Reynolds signals that he is taking complete ownership of how the character is portrayed on screen. In just two films (three if you count the forgotten X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Reynolds has effectively prevented anyone from ever playing the character again. Just like Robert Downey, Jr. with Iron Man, Reynolds is Deadpool, and the biggest reason the two films have been as good as they have been.

Cable is not a great villain, but Brolin — hot off the heels of playing Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War — plays him with a nice intimidating nature that serves the character well. Zazie Beetz, as newcomer Domino who has the unusual but fantastic superpower of luck, matches Reynolds’ personality and demeanor well.

Deadpool 2 does what few sequels can: Improve on the original by doubling down on what worked the first time while adding outstanding new elements. As long as you’re not easily offended, you’re once again in line for a hell of a ride.

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2.

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2.

Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

For this new store, they chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."

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