Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Jonathan Liebsman (Wrath of the Titans) directed this latest version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the story of four heroes in a half shell of a movie.

New York is being run amok by a new gang called the foot clan.  While trying to get the scoop that'll finally put her on top, April O'Neil (Megan Fox, Transformers) witnesses four turtle vigilantes put a stop to one of their raids.  In confronting them, they introduce themselves (in case you missed it from the title of the movie) very awkwardly as ninjas who are mutant turtles......oh, and they are teenagers, but they can still have adult conversations, says Mikey.  Wink wink.  That April is a fox.  (See what I did there?  Pretty bad, but still better than the writing in this movie.)  Turns out that April's father was partners with Eric Sacks (William Fichtner, Drive Angry) in the lab that created these same turtles, along with their master Splinter.  April goes to Sacks to find out about a project they were working on before her father died.  Watch out April!  Sacks is a bad man, and he's got a Japanese man, named Shredder, sitting in the shadows of a back room that he gives a giant CGI suit of oversized knives to in order to stop the turtles before they foil his plan for world domination.  (I don't think that was much more spoilery than the trailers).

I'm not even sure where to begin with this.  I guess I will start by saying that I am a fan of TMNT, from the 80's cartoon to the 1990 movie to the NES game and beyond, even as cheesy as some of that stuff is.  So, I went into this movie wanting to like it.  I really did.  There are just too many things that didn't work.  The story, for one.  The biggest problem is the April O'Neil angle.  Why does the one person who randomly is the first one to witness the turtles in action, out of ALL the people in New York, have to magically be directly linked to their origin.  The writers were trying too hard to tie everything together, and that just called for too big of a coincidence.  Also, in doing so, this movie became more of the April O'Neil story, with the turtles being more of a foot note.  Speaking of footnotes, that's kind of what the reason is behind them actually being ninjas.  Think Splinter has a cool back story like he did in the 1990 version?  Nope, just found an old book in the sewers called The Art of Ninjitsu, and thought that would be cool to teach the turtles as a way to defend themselves.

That brings me to the turtles themselves.  It's a wonder they need to be ninjas at all.  They are each the size of a small car, and as witnessed in the first fight of the film, they can whip around barge crates with the greatest of ease.  They're also bulletproof.  All they need is brute force to take out the bad guys.  Another thing that bothered me about the turtles was the get-ups.  Maybe it's just because I'm used to the belt, the mask, and the weapon on each, that I though the rest of it was overkill in this movie.  Leonardo is the leader, so he has a sort of samurai armor looking thing on.  Donatello is the tech guy, so he is covered head to toe with electronics and nerdy glasses.  Raphael is the loner badass, so he's got the full bandana and black sunglasses.  Michelangelo is the fun-loving party dude, so he's decked out with puka shell necklaces and 80's sunglasses.  I liked it better when writers thought that audiences were smart enough to figure out their personalities without the overstated visual hints.

The writing wasn't much better than the design for the turtles.  They claimed to be teenagers, but I felt like they were written more like they were 8 or 9 year olds.  Mikey was ruined as the party guy, as 90% of his dialogue was devoted to his feelings for April.  I realize that it's nothing new to add this element of one or more of the turtles having a little crush on the hot reporter, but this was taken to a creepy, stalker-ish level. If they would have toned this down a little, then maybe the rest of his dialogue, that seemed more in character for him, would have resonated a little better.  The rest of the turtles' dialogue wasn't written much better, either.  The jokes all kind of felt a little flat.  I never thought this phrase would come from me, but Megan Fox may have been the best performer in the movie.  Some of the jokes and gags were actually direct callbacks to the 1990 movie (probably a few for the old cartoon show also, but didn't catch them).  Usually when watching a remake, I can appreciate these nods to the original and still enjoy the current film.  In this case, however, when they made a reference to the old film it just made me wish that's what I were watching instead.

I will give points to this movie for the CGI work.  This is the age of bigger equals better, and this movie rolled with that.  There is a scene where the main characters are careening down a snowy mountain while also still fighting the foot clan.  Everyone miraculously comes out unscathed, but hey, it was kind of a fun scene to watch.  The only place that the CGI was a problem for me was the final battle.  I just didn't think that Shredder's armor looked that great.

There are two other little positive things I would like to mention.  One is Will Arnett (The Lego Movie), who played April's cameraman, Vernon.  His dialogue wasn't much better than anyone else's, but when isn't that guy fun to watch.  The other is a scene to watch out for.  There is an elevator scene that's only really about 30 seconds long, but such a fun scene.  What is it with elevator scenes this year?  Captain America had a great one too.

Like I said before, I love the turtles.  So, it pained me to write such a negative review.  It just wasn't that good.  Other than a few fun scenes, most of my time spent watching this movie was spent wondering when it was going to end.

Rating: ***------- (3 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:

Michelangelo: MC Mikey!

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn (Slither) helmed this next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's another great success in my opinion.

The general audience may not know who the Guardians are, but watching this film they'll definitely be hooked on a feeling of complete joy.  The film starts off in 1988 with a small boy named Peter Quill.  After seeing his mother pass away, he runs off and is abducted by a spaceship.  Cut to present day and we find an adult Peter, played by Chris Pratt (The Lego Movie), hunting down this small orb for a buyer.  We find that in the last 26 years he has been raised and trained by a group of ravagers, essentially space pirates.  He tries to sell it on Xandar, the homeworld of the Nova Corp.  It turns out to be a powerful weapon that the Nova's enemies, the Kree, want to steal for themselves to destroy Xandar.  From there it becomes a fun romp through space with Quill (or as he likes to call himself, Star Lord), and the unlikely group of heroes he accumulates, fighting the good fight to save Xandar and the Nova Corp.

It's a pretty basic plot, but the real fun of the movie comes from getting to know the characters.  Peter Quill is a wise-ass womanizing space pirate.  Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista, Riddick) is the literal-minded, muscle-bound alien hell-bent on getting revenge on the Kree.  Gamora (Zoe Saldana, Star Trek), is the "daughter" of the Kree leader, Thanos, whom she incidentally hates.  Then there is the walking tree named Groot (Vin Diesel, Boiler Room) and his little partner Rocket (Bradley Cooper, Limitless), the space-raccoon (although don't call him that to his face) with an attitude.  This group doesn't even like each other to begin with, so the bickering just makes for a fun time as they get to know each other and start to realize that they need to work together.  The role of Quill seems like it was written just for Pratt.  I think it may be the best bit of Marvel casting since RDJ as Tony Stark.  Not knowing the characters ahead of time, I don't know if the part was adapted to him or if that really is the way the character is.  Either way, it was just a ton of fun to watch.  The others did just as well, especially Diesel who did voice-over for the CGI Groot and could only use a vocabulary of three words to get his point across by using different inflections of his voice.  There was also a lot of greatness in the supporting cast with the likes of Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, and Michael Rooker.  One of the standouts, however, was Lee Pace (Lincoln).  He played Ronan, the leader of the Kree army that was after the orb.  He dove so far into the role of the power hungry alien that I didn't even realize it was him until the credits rolled.

Besides the top-notch cast, this film has a lot else going for it.  There's a little something in it for everyone.  The dialog is one of the best things going for it.  This movie had me laughing throughout most of it.  The dialog was just really witty and sharp.  I am a huge fan of 80's movies and this film managed to work in a lot of 80's dialog and references.  It was not shoehorned in either.  It all made sense within the context of the film, since Peter Quill was abducted from earth in 1988.  That would mean all knowledge of Earth for him only goes up to the 80's.  In keeping with this trend, it also had the feel of an 80's action/adventure/comedy.  It's hard to describe.  It was like watching an old Indiana Jones, mixed with a little Ghostbusters, set in space.  I don't mean similar subject matter, but rather tone and feel.  Also, without shoehorning it in, but rather flowing it into the narrative, this film may have the best soundtrack since Almost Famous.  It has a soundtrack that just makes you want to get up and dance.  In fact, there's even some fun dance scenes in here that also seem like they have no place in film like this, but somehow work oh so well.

Well, after this whole love-fest for this fantastic movie, I do have to point out one or two minor things that did not work for me.  First, I was worried in the beginning about the dialog.  These are characters that, as I've said, the general public are not even going to know the names of.  Therefore, that's the one thing they did have to shoehorn in.  I thought the dialog when introducing a couple of the characters was a little hokey.  You'll give this a pass, once you realize that it is only to get the introductions out of the way, which is necessary.  The other thing is, I did not like the camera work for the heavy action scenes.  When there was too much action going on, the camera was all over the place.  It was also full of fast cuts.  Luckily there were not a lot of scenes like this, and when there was a little less heavy action it was perfectly acceptable.  It just seemed like when there was too much going on at one time the director and cameraman didn't know where they should be, so they tried to be everywhere at once.

Other than those small complaints, I highly recommend you go out and see this film.  It doesn't matter if you know these characters or not going in.  By the time you leave, you'll be hungry for more.  And in true 80's fashion they let you know you'll get more with the pre-credits title card telling you "Guardians of the Galaxy will be back".  Also, being a Marvel movie, there is a stinger after the credits.  I will tell you that it does not progress any storyline, but for anyone in their mid-30's like me, there's a fairly unexpected fun little cameo.  This movie has it all, action, adventure, comedy, dancing, and a killer soundtrack.  If you're looking for a fun time at the movies, this is your ticket.

Rating: *********- (9 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:

Gamora: We're just like Kevin Bacon!

Movie Review: Hercules

Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) helps close out the July book with the story of Hercules.


Dwayne Johnson (Pain & Gain), with his yak testicle hair beard (that's what he claims), plays the title role of Hercules, the demi-god son of Zeus and a mortal woman.  To be free of Zeus' jealous wife Hera's attempts to kill him he must go through the 12 labors.  These are tasks set before him that only a demi-god such as himself can perform.  This is the story you expect, going into a film about Hercules.  This is the story you get for the first 10 minutes of this film.  Turns out he's gone through his 12 labors and now is a mercenary for hire that goes around with his rag-tag group of merry men (and one Amazonian woman) doing tasks in exchange for gold.  He is hired by Lord Cotys (John Hurt, Snowpiercer) to train the men of Thrace to defend his kingdom from the evil warlord Rhesus.


This all seems utterly ridiculous, and it is, but it turns out to be a bit of fun.  The story, although told poorly in this film, is quite interesting at the base of it.  You find out that Hercules may not be a demi-god after all.  His nephew travels with him on his adventures and tells the tales of his previous acts.  Each time the tales get taller and taller until you finally have a legend born of a man who was born the son of Zeus.  I think this is an interesting commentary on how myths and legends are created out of word of mouth.  Even though this film is filled with flaws, that was probably the one thing that bothered me most.  It is heavily implied that Hercules is only a mortal man, but you see him perform some pretty superhuman feats throughout.  This and the other flaws didn't even bother me that much though, because the movie was just plain fun.


Before I get to the part where I had fun, I need to point out some other flaws.  This is because I want to make sure you're completely aware that this is not necessarily a "good" movie.  To start with, it's just poorly written.  As I said, the base story is a nice twist, but after it is revealed it becomes a little predictable.  It is also filled with the tropes and clichés of action adventure films like this.  The script is not great either.  There are a lot of lines that just don't work, and some dialogue that seemed to go a little too modern day.  All that being said, if those are the kinds of things that you just cannot get past in a movie, then you may just want to walk away.  If you think that you might be able to move past this if some other proper ingredients were thrown in, then I'll get to what I liked about the film.


The actors.  Not necessarily the acting, but the actors.  It was like they all knew what kind of hokey movie they were in and decided to just go with it.  It just seemed like they were having fun playing these characters, and that flowed through to me having fun watching them.  Dwayne Johnson, in his usual fashion, just oozed with his natural charisma and really hammed it up for the camera.  Some of Hercules cohorts were even more fun to watch.  Rufus Sewell (A Knight's Tale), plays kind of his right hand man, Autolycus, who is handy with daggers.  He gets some good, well-timed quips in with his dialogue.  Ingrid Bolso Berdal (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) plays a fierce no-nonsense Amazonian.  The highlight had to be Ian McShane (Cuban Fury) though.  He played a "seer", Amphiaraus, who was burdened with the ability to receive visions from the gods, including when someone's time was up.  You just didn't know what was going to come out of his mouth.  There is a fun recurring theme about visions of his own death that pays off with what was the biggest laugh at my screening.  There are a few chuckles in this film, but it does try to take itself seriously throughout most.  It's just that it's so self-aware, that it allows you to laugh with it in some scenes instead of at it.


Where it gets serious is the violence.  This is another part of the film that excelled for me.  There were a couple of big battles that, in such a shoddy movie, were themselves well shot and fun to watch.  One of my earlier complaints about the film was the fact that Hercules was still kind of superhuman even though implied that he was merely mortal.  Most of his super-heroic feats were on the battlefield, though, and just gave a little extra flair to the fighting going on.


Again, I must say that this is not really a "good" movie in the technical sense, but it is entertaining.  If you want an Oscar contender, you're in the wrong place.  If you're looking for a light, fun summer popcorn flick on weekend afternoon, then there are far worse movies you could go with.  And in the land of 2 1/2 to 3 hour movies that have recently been flooding the theaters, this movie has the added bonus of breezing by with a mere 98 minute run time.


Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Amphiaraus: Do you mind? I was having a moment. 

Movie Review: The Purge: Anarchy

Lock up your doors and barricade the house, because James DeMonaco (The Purge) is bringing us our second annual crimefest with The Purge: Anarchy. (Note: I never saw the first movie and was still able to follow this one just fine in case you haven't seen it either.)


Oddly enough the story in this sequel to last years film takes place during the 6th annual purge in America.  The purge is a 12 hour period that happens every year where all crime is legal and emergency services are not around to help you.  Within the film, the news is claiming that the yearly purge is responsible for lower unemployment and poverty the rest of the year.  Also, it seems that during the purge, everyone who goes out resorts to murder.  There doesn't seem to be much looting or vandalism, which is convenient for businesses not losing money.  I'm assuming we can all just get past how ridiculous this premise is.  It's made blatantly clear in the previews, so if you're still interested in seeing it after that I can assume you have looked past that.


This film follows a sergeant (Frank Grillo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) who goes out during the purge on a specific task, not just general mayhem like most others.  Who he is after is left a mystery until the end, but you understand that it is some sort of revenge on someone because he is heading out on the one night when crime is legal and he's armed to the teeth.  Meanwhile, a struggling waitress (Carmen Ejogo, Alex Cross) and her daughter (Zoe Soul, Prisoners) are trying to stay safe locked up in their apartment, but a group of almost military type men break in and force them to go on the run.  They are caught and the sergeant sees their struggle on the way to his destination and decides to rescue them out of the goodness of his heart.  As he does this, another couple, Shane (Zach Gilford, The Last Stand) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium), hide in the back seat of his car.  They were trying to get to Liz's sisters house for safety before the purge, but their car broke down and they were trying to escape a group of masked individuals that were chasing them down.  Once this unlikely group gets together, the fun begins as they try to survive the night and evade all the people that had been trying to get them to do God knows what.


As it turns out, this is another film about the 1%ers versus the 99%ers.  There is an anti-purge group that is trying to stop the purge from happening because they believe that the rich and powerful are just using it as a form of population control.  Of course the poor are the ones who are going to wipe each other out because they don't have the money to protect themselves.  Besides greedy, this film also depicts the rich as sadistic people who would watch murder as sport if given the chance to do it legally.  I would say if you want to see a better violent film about class warfare, then check out Snowpiercer.  That's not to say this film doesn't have a few merits of it's own though.


I thought that once you get over the whole silly story setup in the beginning of the film, it turns into a pretty decent little thriller.  The five heroes of the story are trying to get across the city in the middle of the night with different kinds of people out to get them.  This keeps the tension up because you get focused on their efforts to get away from one group just to have them round a corner and all of a sudden you go, oh yeah, there's that other group.  It's mostly a thriller, but there are a few little scenes thrown in there that will make you jump as well.


The acting is competent by most.  They make the most out of the material they are given.  The script gives them the problem of just having hokey dialogue here and there throughout the film.  The exception to this rule would be the lead, however.  Frank Grillo is just fun to watch and rises above any problems there might be with the script.  He plays a torn man very well.  He is a good man who is out to do something bad and you can see how it is eating away at him through the film.  Grillo has been in several films that I have seen, but I haven't paid much attention to him.  After this and Winter Soldier though, he is definitely on my radar to watch for what he does next.


So, the film's premise has it's problems.  I don't think it's as clever as it pretends to be, but it is still a different and interesting idea.  It will be interesting where they take this idea in the inevitable next film. Maybe they'll show the clean-up the day after the purge.  I'd hate to be the one who has to deal with all those dead bodies.  This one itself had a great lead performance and some good tension through the second half of the film.  Worth a rental when it comes around.  And in case you didn't get from this review or the trailer, it is a bit of a violent movie.  Not really recommended for children 3 and under.....apparently someone at my screening didn't get that memo.


Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Half the cast at one time or another: Stay safe.

Movie Review: Snowpiercer

The international train, Snowpiercer, (directed by Joon-ho Bong (The Host)) finally rolled into theaters here in America.  I recommend you hop on board while it's still around.


The film opens in present day, and people are all concerned about global warming and the damage we're doing.  So, in our infinite wisdom, us humans created some chemical or something to counteract it.  It does the complete opposite and brings on a new ice age, killing off everything.  There was one man, however, who had invented a train that runs on some sort of perpetual motion engine, basically meaning that it runs forever without stopping.....because science.  The people who were lucky enough to get on board are the last people on Earth.  Cut to 17 years later.  The train has been divided into different classes.  The haves live up in the front by the engine.  The have-nots live at the tail end.  Soldiers come to the back to check the head count routinely and give the "lower class" some protein bars for food.  They also occasionally kidnap the children.  Enter Curtis (Chris Evans, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), the reluctant hero, to lead the tail-enders on a rebellion to run the length of the train and take over the engine.




This film is really heavy handed with the commentary on society and classes.  The haves and have-nots, the rich vs. the poor.  Any given movie has some sort of social commentary, or reflects the views of the filmmaker, but the heavy handed ones *cough* Avatar *cough* usually lose me.  This one kept me by also being a very entertaining film.  I did like the way it turned things around and brought everything full circle at the end, much like the train ride itself, though.  The movie was good from the start, but it got even better when some questions started getting answered.  I think this film did a good job of getting most of my big questions answered, even the one about why they would even keep the tail-enders alive if they were such a nuisance.  You can watch this movie and see the tail-enders working their way up the scale of society.  They fight through the soldiers in the middle of the train (the middle class), up to the front of the train (the 1%ers).  Or you could just watch this film for the bizarre, entertaining romp that it is.  You take the journey with these people because each time they come to the door of the next car, you are just as clueless about what is behind it as they are.  Anyway you look at it, it is just an entertaining, well acted, fun movie.




For the most part, the story is pretty serious.  It even gets downright violent and bloody at times.  The only pitfall of the film may be that at some points it just gets weird out of the blue.  One example, without spoiling, would be a big battle in the middle of the train.  There is a scene involving a fish that just makes you wonder what it was even about and kind of takes you out of the moment.  It comes around and sets up a sight gag later, but still leaves you wondering.  In the same fight scene everyone just stops, and when you find out why it's another wtf moment.  There is even one particular character that seems very out of place in the whole thing.  Tilda Swinton (Constantine) plays Mason, sort of the "right hand man" to the creator of the train.  She is just over the top goofy with fake teeth and a big old overbite.  She is taken as a hostage by the rebellion to help them get through the train.  She is such a key player that you eventually just go with it because she stays so well in character the entire time.




The rest of the acting was really good as well.  Chris Evans does a wonderful job as the reluctant hero.  You wonder the whole time why he doesn't think he's good enough to lead this group even though he does a hell of a job of it.  He does get to have a monologue towards the end that he delivers well, and also makes you wish you hadn't wondered.  Among the rest of the cast is a kind of mentor to Curtis, Gilliam (John Hurt, Alien).  He was one who once was friends with the train's creator.  Then Curtis has a young man who idolizes him played wonderfully by Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot).  To get through each door, they break Namgoong (Kang-ho Song, The Host) out of prison along with his daughter Yona (Ah-sung Ko, The Host).  Namgoong is the designer of the doors separating each car of the train.  He and his daughter agree to help in exchange for a potent drug they are addicted to on the train.  They are quiet figures and you slowly figure out their story as the film progresses, and get to know just what other motivations they have.  That is another great thing about this film.  Chris Evans is leading the rebellion, but the film is not just focused on him.  It takes the time to develop each of the supporting characters without getting overly drawn out and also without derailing the main story.  And finally, in mentioning the performances, I can't fail to mention the kick-ass Tanya who joins the crusade because she is on a mission to find her kidnapped son.  She is played by the always wonderful Octavia Spencer (The Help).




This film is just a fun and bizarre ride.  The first viewing is the best also, because you just never know what you're going to get behind each new door.  The cinematography is done well too.  It does get bloody, but the camerawork is done in a way that the actual blows are not shown on screen, but it still gives you enough of the picture to squirm a little.  There are also some beautiful shots of the frozen wasteland outside of the train.  This movie will definitely not be for everyone.  However, if a little blood doesn't scare you away, and you like action (with a few random moments of weirdness), then I recommend taking a ride on this crazy train.


Rating: *********- (9 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Mason: Know your place. Accept your place.  Be a shoe.

Movie Review: Deliver Us From Evil

Scott Derrickson (Sinister) delivers another creepy, atmospheric tale in his latest movie Deliver Us From Evil, inspired by true events.


Eric Bana (Munich) plays NYPD officer, Ralph Sarchie.  He and his partner, Butler (Joel McHale, Ted) get called to a case of domestic dispute where a man had beat his wife.  Later, they take a case where a woman had thrown her child over a railing at a zoo.  Things just get stranger and stranger as the clues start tying the cases together.  Sarchie is a man who lost his faith in God a long time ago and just believes that the people he is dealing with are certifiable whack jobs.  A priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez, The Bourne Ultimatum), who is familiar with performing exorcisms thinks otherwise.  Slowly, Mendoza changes Sarchie's mind and they start to work together to bring this bizarre case to a close.


First and foremost, this film is labeled and advertised as a straight horror film.  I thought it was much more than that.  To me, it was more of a police drama with supernatural tendencies.  I think this is a good thing.  That is what I appreciate about Scott Derrickson's newest film.  He doesn't just throw a generic horror story up on the screen.  He gives you a solid story in a horror setting.  This film was more about Sarchie, and his lack of faith.  It was the age old story of good vs. evil.  After seeing man do so many bad things, can Sarchie's faith be restored?  What exactly will it take to restore that faith?  You find out he's got his own personal demons to work through from things he's done and seen done as a cop in NY.  Don't get me wrong.  The horror element is definitely strong.  There are many jump scares.  Also, if you believe in demons and possessions, then the possession and exorcism scenes can be quite terrifying.  Derrickson is also good at creating a dark, creepy atmosphere in his films that keep you on the edge of your seat, expecting something terrible to happen at any moment.


The acting was another solid thing about this movie.  I think Eric Bana is a fine actor, and he really shined in this film.  He did a good job of keeping his New York accent throughout.  He also just really got into the character.  The only time I felt he fell a little short was in his scenes with Olivia Munn (Magic Mike), who played his wife in the film.  Her acting was just a little too over the top for me.  Part of this was that the dialogue just didn't work as much for me between these too characters.  Her overacting seemed to rub off on Bana, who in turn kind of fell apart in his scenes with her.  The chemistry was much better between him and his other two co-stars.  Joel McHale really surprised me as Sarchie's partner.  I'm so used to seeing him clowning around on "The Soup", or "Community".  He was still the comic relief in this film, for lack of a better phrase.  However, he still really pulled off the tough guy act well.  He just had to be the one to throw in a few zingers here and there.  Edgar Ramirez plays the kind of priest you expect to show up in this kind of film, but he just does it so well that you don't care.  He's the "unconventional priest" who smokes and drinks and knows how to exorcise your demons.  He is just written and acted so well that it just kind of works.


Again, I don't want anyone to think that I don't think this is a horror movie by any means, but it just worked as more than that for me.  However, that being said, the cinematography in this film is very creepy.  It is always dark and rainy, but never so dark that you can't see what's going on up on the screen.  The mood is always suspenseful, but there is some tension easing moments from the likes of Joel McHale.  He never went light enough to throw you off though.  There is one scene towards the end of the film that I'm a little on the fence about whether it was too much comic relief or not.  A character shows up at the police station during a key scene towards the end of the film.  I felt this was a serious and scary moment that made the comic relief lines almost a little too jarring, and took me out of it a bit too much.


Overall, this was a solid movie.  If you are looking for something to scare you this summer, then this could be the one to check out.  It's also a great police drama about a man who's searching for answers after seeing too much evil from his fellow man.


Rating: *******--- (7 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Butler: What's wrong with it?
Sarchie: It's a cat.  That's what's wrong with it.

Movie Review: The Rover

David Michod (Animal Kingdom) paints a bleak and desolate future in this new Australian road movie, The Rover.


The film opens in Australia "10 years after the collapse".  That is the only thing we're given in the set-up to the world of the movie.  There are hints throughout that it is some sort of economic collapse that has left Australia in kind of a shambles.  The plot then kind of takes a back seat, as the film focuses more on character.  The first scene introduces Eric (inexplicably named in the credits when he pretty much goes out of his way to remain nameless throughout the movie), played by Guy Pearce (Memento).  He looks like a man who has seen too much after this "collapse" and has lost everything, including any sort of hope, and become a bit of a drifter, oblivious to everything.  Sitting on a bar stool he is even oblivious to the car wrecking down the road right outside the window.  Three criminals are in a hurry to escape after whatever it is they did (I'm not sure it was made clear, but they were in a hurry).  They get their car stuck and steal Eric's car.  This finally catches Eric's attention and he runs out and gets their car unstuck to go after them.  In trying to figure out where they went, he runs into Rey (Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis) who is the brother of one of the criminals played by Scoot McNairy (Monsters).  He was left for dead on the side of the road by the others.  From there the film follows Eric using Rey to track down the others to get his car back.  And you learn, never steal a car from Guy Pearce.


The real driving force of this road movie (pardon the pun), is the acting of the two leads.  It is much more about character than plot.  Guy Pearce does an excellent job of doing most of the heavy lifting here.  He is a man of few words, but that is good.  His actions speak loud enough.  In this desolate landscape that has been built, he's not afraid to outright kill to get that car back.  However, I felt that this was a result of the change in the world around him.  It was easy to get away with anything, including murder.  The country is in shambles and there is very little in way of police or military force that care.  Underneath it though, he seems like a man who doesn't want to do any of this.  He just wants to be left alone in peace.  This comes through in one of the final scenes when he gets this look of defeat on his face like he doesn't know what the point of any of it is anymore.  You really want to know the entire time what could possibly be in this car that would make him do all this.  It's either going to work for you, or simply not.  It ultimately isn't even about this at all, but more about his character's journey and development.  In this sense, it worked for me.


In a surprising turn of events, I set my prejudice for the Twilight movies aside and came to realize that Robert Pattinson actually has some acting chops.  He's the injured brother who was left behind.  His brother and him are from America and have a southern accent.  It doesn't seem like he is supposed to be full on mentally handicapped, but he is a bit dim-witted.  He seems a little slow, and has this little nervous tick.  He's a character that seems torn throughout loyalty-wise.  He wants to believe there is a reason that his brother didn't come back for him, but Guy Pearce takes advantage of his slowness to slowly convince him that his brother is simply a bad man that left him to die.  He gradually turns from reluctant helper at gunpoint to a willing helper by the end.  He's more just scared than anything else and I think Pattinson does an excellent job with all of these conflicting emotions.


Another major character in the film was Australia itself.  The cinematography is great in this film.  It's got a real dusty, dirty, beat down look to it.  The buildings are all run down.  The people all hide behind closed doors and all have guns to protect their stuff.  It seems like all things are a rare commodity in this almost non-economy.  The score of the film is also just as jarring as the landscape and some of the outbursts of intense gun violence in the film.


One problem I had with the film was the pacing.  Michod took a real minimalist approach to this film, and that included the slow, deliberate pacing.  I understand and appreciate this approach, but it simply didn't work for me.  Sometimes the film would just slow down too much and I'd start to get a little bored.


This film is definitely not for everyone.  The plot is minimalist and there are some scenes of pretty intense shootings.  The slow pacing is what ultimately brings it down a notch or two for me.  However, the film is very well shot and nice to look at and the two lead performances are great.  With the things it had going for it, I really wanted to like it more than I actually did.  I would still recommend it if you are getting burnt out on the summer Hollywood blockbusters and want a change of pace though.


Rating: ******---- (6 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Rey: Should I shoot him again, just to make sure?

A Week (or 2) of Entertainment - Issue 13

Took a week off again.  It was Father's Day.  That's an excuse, right?  As of this past Wednesday, I've been a father for 5 years now, and it's been fantastic.  I took both my girls to see The Lego Movie.  Definitely a movie you should check out, whether you have kids or not.  Now, on with the show.


RIP Casey Kasem - Father's Day wasn't all fun and games for the entertainment world.  We sadly lost another favorite.  Casey Kasem was a disc jockey and actor/voice actor and more.  A whole generation will remember him as the voice of Shaggy in the old Scooby Doo cartoons.  Even more so, he will be remembered as the host of the American Top 40 for many years.  I remember growing up listening to him countdown the current top 40, playing long distance requests, and giving shout-outs to a few different stations each week who aired his program across the country.  We'll all miss him (and if you've listened to the crap on radio lately, you'll miss the good music we use to have in the Top 40). Luckily, in my area, I can still pick up repeats of his shows in syndication from the 70's and 80's on weekend mornings.  We'll never forget you or your voice Mr. Kasem.


75 Years of the Bat - To celebrate 75 years of Batman, Warner Brothers has tour dedicated to the character in California.  For $54 they will take you to different locations from the films and then to the WB studio museum, which has dedicated the whole first floor to Batman.  They will have props, replicas, vehicles, and costumes from many of the different movies throughout the years.  I now wish I lived in California, because that sounds amazing.


Meanwhile, back at DC headquarters... - The list of DC's planned films has been leaked lately.  This seems to be still rumor stages, but it's still worth noting.  Shazam, Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, Flash/Green Lantern all in 2016/17, followed by Man of Steel 2 in 2018.  If they follow through on this, they will all of a sudden be pumping out more films a year than Marvel.  While I'm excited for this (I grew up reading more DC than Marvel), I'm still a little worried too.  I'd love to finally see some of these characters up on the big screen, but I'd like to see them take their time to put out a good product.  The official announcement is meant to happen at ComicCon this summer.  We'll see then.  I think one of the big things to note is that they seem to have altogether dropped the entire façade of Batman v Superman being a Man of Steel sequel with the mention of Man of Steel 2.


Irony House - Looking for a home in Long Island?  Well, for a mere $12.5M you can own the home used in the Tom Hanks classic Money Pit.  The irony is that only the outside was used for shots in the movie, with interior shots being done on sets.  And yet, the current owners claim that the actual interior of the house was falling apart when they bought it.  Now they have cleaned it up and put this ginormous mansion on the market.  Who want's to buy me a house?


Until next time......I'd like to make a long distance dedication.


Weekend top 10 at the box office:
1 - Think Like a Man Too (new release) $30M
2 - 22 Jump Street $29M
3 - How to Train Your Dragon 2 $25.3M
4 - Jersey Boys (new release) $13.5M
5 - Maleficent $13M
6 - Edge of Tomorrow $10.3M
7 - The Fault in our Stars $8.6M
8 - X-Men: Days of Future Past $6.2M
9 - Chef $1.8M
10 - Godzilla $1.8M

Movie Review: 22 Jump Street

Well, Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) have another hit on there hands, as far as I'm concerned.  In the year of surprisingly good sequels (Winter Soldier, The Raid 2, X-Men: DOFP), we can now add a great comedy sequel.


Schmidt (Jonah Hill, Accepted) and Jenko (Channing Tatum, Haywire) are back.  After their "successful" operation that they ran from 21 Jump Street, they are given another go.  This time they are given a bigger budget and a bigger base of operations across the street at 22 Jump Street.  Looking too old to go undercover as high school students again (because they weren't in the first film?), they are assigned a case to track down a new drug supplier posed as college students.  Hilarity ensues.


This movie made me laugh, a lot.  Success!  I think a lot of things went in to making that happen.  Start with Lord and Miller.  They did not have any writing credit on the Jump Street movies, like they did on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and The Lego Movie.  Their presence was still felt, however.  They direct a movie with a rapid fire approach.  The jokes just keep coming one after another.  They don't wait for the laugh.  You either laugh at a joke, or wait a very short time for the next one to hit you.  Fortunately they had good writers to make this work as well.  Lord and Miller have a knack for doing meta jokes better than people who are making straight parody movies in this business as well.  There is a whole dialog near the beginning of the movie about how bad sequels are, and why, that could have been a complete mis-fire in the wrong hands.  Many would take jokes like this and just cram them in.  They cleverly weave these things into the story, to make the whole thing make sense, and they don't give you the nudge-nudge, wink-wink pause to see if you got the joke.  Again, they keep it flowing and move on to the next thing.  The biggest parody this film makes is that it is a complete (b)romantic comedy under the guise of being a buddy cop sequel comedy.


The other big thing this movie has going for it is the cast.  Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum surprised the hell out of me in 21 Jump Street.  They have had some successes in my opinion, but I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of either one.  Together, however, they have amazing chemistry.  You can definitely tell that their friendship only grew after doing that first movie, because they work even better together in this one.  They have that flow of two people that genuinely like hanging out and goofing around with each other.  They don't seem to take themselves too seriously, which works to the film's benefit.  The only thing that may not have worked as well for me were some of the Jonah Hill scenes where he didn't have Tatum to play off of.  There was also a great supporting cast surrounding them.  Ice Cube (Three Kings) returns as the angry captain.  He even gets a bigger presence than the first film, which turns out to be a good thing.  New additions to this film include a few new college students.  There is a pair of twins played by the Lucas Brothers who come in for some amazingly timed jinx jokes.  The best newcomer may be Jillian Bell (Bridesmaids) playing a college student that just continuously points out how old the two leads are with great straight-faced dead-pan timing.


There is not much else to say.  This movie was just the perfect mix of writing, directing, and acting.  The result of which was a fun time at the movies.  It's a movie that will be funny at any viewing, but I felt was enhanced with a crowd.  For every joke that didn't work, there were 2 or 3 that did.  The year is only half over, but I think it will be hard for this comedy to be topped.


Rating: *********- (9 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Jenko: Something cool!

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow



Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) comes into the summer with a great little film that's a win/win for everybody.  If you're a Tom Cruise fan, you get to see another good performance in a fun summer blockbuster.  If you can't stand Tom Cruise, you get to see him die over and over again.


Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher) stars as Major William Cage, who is a spokesperson in the military for the United Defense Forces (UDF).  This group was formed because of years of fighting alien beings called mimics.  It has gotten bad and Cage is dropped in the front lines of an assault even though he has never seen a day of combat in his life.  He is killed fairly quickly, and this is when the time loop begins.  Each time he dies he is sent back to the day before the assault.  He eventually runs into Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt, The Adjustment Bureau), who at one point also had this ability to "reset".  She tells him to find her the next time he wakes up.  He dies over and over while slowly getting trained by Rita, and they have to find a way to use this time loop to their advantage to defeat the mimics.


I went into this film expecting another mindless, fun summer sci-fi flick starring Tom Cruise.  I got way more than that.  This movie has everything.  Sci-fi, comedy, romance, drama, action, exoskeletons, aliens, Tom Cruise, and a kick-ass Emily Blunt.  Yes, I said comedy.  This was the last thing I expected, but when they had to kill Cruises character so many times, it could have gotten boring. Instead, they injected it with a little bit of humor.  Some of them even made me chuckle out loud momentarily.  It's more than just the kills, too.  A lot of the dialog was very witty.


That's not to say it's an all out laugh fest.  The end of the movie gives way to a little more intensity.  The action is all well done throughout the movie.  What caught me even more than that though was the story.  The writers could have taken the easy way out and just not explained the time loop and just had you accept it.  Instead what they give you is a well thought out storyline and explanation.  It was smartly addressed and they never veered from or broke the rules of their own mythology.  It doesn't make sense in the real world, but within the context of the movie it never loses you or makes you question any of it.


The performances in this film are great.  Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) plays the stubborn General Brigham, who is responsible for sending Cage into battle.  And Bill Paxton turns in a good performance as the tough guy Master Sargeant of the squad Cage is assigned to, who then becomes a bit befuddled when Cage starts resetting and coming back magically anticipating everything he's going to say.  The two leads of course drive this movie, and they drive it well.  Tom Cruise has the demands of action star of course.  However he also has to pull off some funny dialog and also show growing emotions for Blunt's character.  I thought he pulled off quite the performance, balancing all three of these things seamlessly without making the movie seem all over the place.  Emily Blunt pulls in a great tough girl performance.  She is no damsel in distress, actually quite the opposite.  She is the one who trains Cruise to be a better soldier throughout the movie.  The two of them have great chemistry on screen together.


The pacing of the film is also something that must be discussed.  Being a Groundhog Day type movie, where there are many, many deaths, pacing could be hard to pull off.  There has to be several montages so the film doesn't drag out to 12 hours.  The writers and director really knew when to go into montage mode and when to slow it down and show more of an individual day.  It was done well enough so you could get an idea of just how long he had been doing days over again without them spelling it out for you.  This of course was also contributed to by the dialog and acting.


Don't let the previews fool you into thinking this is just another generic sci-fi movie.  If you're looking for a fun time at the movies, but not necessarily a turn off your brain kind of movie, then this is for you.  The pieces were put together well enough to turn what could have been another generic summer blockbuster into a witty, fun, joyride of a movie.


Rating: ********-- (8 out of 10)


Memorable Quote:
Cage: The only thing I can feel are my lips.

A Week of Entertainment - Issue 12

Another busy summer weekend delaying me a day.  Gotta love the current weather (here in Iowa at least).  I've been spending my days outside with my girls, but that doesn't mean Hollywood isn't still active.  On with the news.


Is there a Doctor in the house? - Doctor Strange got a brief shout out in the recent Captain America film.  And now it seems he may get his own film.  Scott Derrickson looks to be attached to this movie.  I don't believe it is official yet, but there must be something to this rumor.  Derrickson himself not so subtly hinted on his twitter account that this will be his next project.  I'm okay with this choice personally.  I'm a fan of his last film, Sinister, and his upcoming Deliver Us From Evil looks like it will be just as dark and creepy.  Choosing Derrickson, they definitely seem to be going with a darker undertone in this film, and that could really work for a character like Strange.


Cartoons are for kids - Who needs 'em, right?  That's apparently what Disney is thinking.  Currently in theaters they have Maleficent, which is a live action twist on the Sleeping Beauty story.  Now they have plans to make straight up live adaptations of some of their other beloved animated films.  Cinderella and The Jungle Book are on the slate with the most recent announcement being that of a Beauty and the Beast adaptation.  I guess I can't say this is surprising, or even new.  We have seen this before.  You all remember Glenn Close in 101 Dalmatians back in '96 right?  I'm sure I'll check some of these out, but you know we'll all be forgetting about them a couple years down the road and going back to showing our kids the 2D animated classics.


If there's something strange in your theater - There have been rumors about a Ghostbusters 3 milling about for years now.  That's all well and good, but this year is the 30th anniversary of the original.  They are putting their focus on that right now, and rightly so.  To commemorate, there will special blu-ray releases of both Ghostbusters I & II.  More importantly however, the first film will be re-released back into theaters over Labor Day weekend.  Who needs Ghostbusters 3, when you can get the original real deal back up on the glorious big screen.


Pay for your own death - Have you ever wanted to be killed by a real professional?  Well, who's better at killing off people (fictional anyway?) than George R.R. Martin.  He makes Whedon and Kirkman look like rank amateurs.  And now he wants to kill off one of you.  If you donate to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary you will be given prizes varying depending on the amount.  If you happen to have 20,000 pounds lying about that you would like to donate, then Martin will give your name to a small character in one of his next Song of Ice and Fire novels and kill you off, like he does.  Who doesn't want that claim to fame?  Now go out and save a wolf!


Until next time.....if someone asks if you're a god, you say yes!


Weekend top 10 at the box office:
1 - The Fault in our Stars (new release) $48M
2 - Maleficent $34.3M
3 - Edge of Tomorrow (new release) $28.8M
4 - X-Men: Days of Future Past $15.2M
5 - A Million Ways to Die in the West $7.3M
6 - Godzilla $6.1M
7 - Neighbors $5.3M
8 - Blended $4.1M
9 - Chef $2.6M
10 - Million Dollar Arm $2M

A Week (or 2) of Entertainment - Issue 11

Well, last weekend was Memorial Day weekend, so I took the week off from writing this column.  I hope everyone had as pleasant a weekend as I did.  I will mention the stories from this past week and the week before still.  That being said, I may shorten my take on them since some will be quite old-hat by now.  Have a great week!


RIP Gordon Willis - Gordon Willis passed away at 82.  He was the cinematographer for one of the greatest trilogies out there.  The Godfather Trilogy.  With this, and many other great movies, his work will not soon be forgotton.


RIP Ann Davis - Just today the Brady Bunch's maid, Alice, passed away at 88.  Many generations grew up with Alice and the Bradys.  She even managed a cameo in the 1995 Brady Bunch Movie.


What's in a title? -  Apparently everything.  The Man of Steel follow-up has now gotten an official title of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  They managed to get the story down to a two part title.  First part of the movie will be Batman dukin' it out with Superman cause he finds him to be a threat.  Second half will be them coming to the conclusion that they are on the same side and find others to form the Justice League.  I am still totally on the fence about this new title.  I like it alright, but with the v instead of vs, and the word Justice, it makes it sound like this is going to be a courtroom drama.


Be in a movie! - Have you ever wanted a walk-on role in a Star Wars movie?  Who says no to that?  Well, here's your chance!  J.J. Abrams is auctioning off a chance to win a walk on role in episode VII.  For every $10 you donate to UNICEF's Innovation Labs you get one entry into the drawing.  There are also cool gifts and prizes you get at each donation level.  If you want to donate to a good cause, here's your chance at a win/win situation.


From Monsters to Aliens - Speaking of Star Wars, Gareth Edwards has been announced as the director for one of the as yet unspecified Star Wars spin-off movies.  Godzilla was not a perfect movie by any means, but I enjoyed it.  And between that and Monsters, I would like to keep an eye on this director.  Like they say, it can't be as bad as the prequels, right?


Shrinking Interest - Ant-Man, which was to be part of phase 3 of the Marvel movies has lost it's director.  After a bout of creative differences, Edgar Wright dropped out of the production.  This is one movie I've been really looking forward to since they announced him as the director.  I'm sure Marvel will step up and find the right director to replace him, but until then I'm a little saddened by this news.


Butterfly in the Sky - On a final note, here's a story that brings back a little faith in humanity.  LeVar Burton wants to bring Reading Rainbow back on the air.  He also wants to bring the Reading Rainbow program to poor schools for free.  That alone is good news to hear.  As much as I love movies and television, I am also just as in love with books.  I also have two young daughters and love to hear celebrities bring their voice to the encouragement of better education for our youth.  What makes this story even better is that Burton started a kickstarter campaign trying to raise a million dollars by July (a little over a month), and met his goal in less than 24 hours.


Until next time......Take a look.  It's in a book.


Weekend to 10 at the box office:
1 - Maleficent (new release) $70M
2 - X-Men: Days of Future Past $32.6M
3 - A Million Ways to Die in the West (new release) $17.1M
4 - Godzilla $12.2M
5 - Blended $8.4M
6 - Neighbors $7.7M
7 - The Amazing Spider-Man 2 $3.8M
8 - Million Dollar Arm $3.7M
9 - Chef $2M
10 - The Other Woman $1.4M

Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) directed the first two X-Men films back in the early 2000's.  Then he handed over the reigns for the next few.  Well, now he's back for the latest installment, and I think he's brought us the best of the bunch.

In the not-too-distant future, the world is not a safe place for mutants.  One Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage, The Game of Thornes) has created giant mutant killing robots called Sentinels.  They adapt to anything the mutants can throw at them, so the mutants are getting wiped out.  It's so bad that it has brought Professor X (Patrick Stewart, X-Men) and Magneto (Ian McKellan, X-Men) back together again to fight side by side.  They've come to find that Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page, X-Men: The Last Stand) has the ability to send people's minds back in time to a younger version of themselves.  In doing so, they can then alter history.  This brings them to the plan of sending someone way back to 1973 to stop the initial start-up of the Sentinal program.  The only person they believe can withstand going back that far is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, X-Men).  They send him back and he must bring together a young Professor X (James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class) to fight a common cause.

So, you've got six movies already in this X-Men universe and the continuity is all over the place.  What do you do?  You bring in time travel, of course.  That fixes everything, right?  I was a little worried going in, but it ended up being a pretty fun ride none-the-less.  It doesn't answer every question, and it even raised a couple more, but it did keep the time travel plot from getting to convoluted.  Actually, I thought this movie was pretty contained, and that was refreshing.  It didn't try to bring in a million new mutants like some of the other films.  And they didn't try to jam in backstories for the ones that were brought in.  It showed their powers and their purpose, and you just went with it.  The story itself stayed pretty simple, future selves try to survive, past selves try to stop Trask.  The pacing of the film was pretty good too.  The only problem it may have had was that it was a little too long.  It lagged a little in the middle act, but once you get over that little hump it picks up again through to the end of the film.

The acting is what you expect if you've seen any of the previous films.  I think everyone has gotten pretty comfortable in their roles.  The only problem I may have is actually Jennifer Lawrence of all people.  I think she's a very good actress and love several of her movies, but she just doesn't work for me as the young Mystique.  I just can't accept her as the stone-cold heartless killer that is Mystique.  The newbies to the group held their own with the veterans as well, though.  The stand out would have to be Quicksilver (Evan Peters, Kick-Ass).  Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who co-starred with Peters in Kick-Ass, another superhero movie) needs to bring his A game when playing Quicksilver in the next Avengers movie.  Ironically, Quicksilver was one of the highlights of the film while also being one of it's downfalls.  It irritated me a little that he was mainly brought in as a convenient plot device.  They could have utilized him a lot more.  Here's to hoping that the next film brings him back.

The action, I feel, is some of the best we've seen in the franchise.  One of the newcomers is a mutant named Blink (Bingbing Fan, Iron Man 3).  Her powers make for some interesting battles visually in the future camp.  Also, I have to bring up Quicksilver again.  There is one really well done scene showing him using his super-speed to stop a fight.  That scene alone almost made it worth the price of admission.

This was over-all a very welcome movie to the franchise.  If you can put the unfixable continuity problems of the previous films aside, this movie works very well, even with the time travel.  Minor lag in the middle and not enough Quicksilver were the most of it's problems.  This was a very good summer blockbuster movie.

Rating: ********-- (8 out of 10)

Memorable Quote:

Logan: In the future, you and I will be good friends.  You just don't know it yet.