A New War (Rambo III, 1988)

The directorial debut of Peter MacDonald (whose had a bigger career as a second unit director, part of films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and the Empire Strikes Back), Rambo III brings us a Rambo once again in a self imposed exile. But he is brought back out of this “retirement” because the Soviets have captured Trautman (Richard Crenna).

Rambo goes into Afghanistan and teams up with the Freedom fighters. He also becomes a father figure to a young Afghani boy. Ticking off the tropes again. Rambo earns the trust of the Freedom Fighters, so that they are willing to help him, but Rambo needs very little help. He is going to solve the cold war the old fashioned way…bullets.

Rambo is full on super hero here, unstoppable by even missiles. This is not surprising, there had already been a Rambo cartoon on in the afternoons back in 1986. In the cartoon, he was fighting a terror group called S.A.V.A.G.E. (Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion) all over the globe. I am not joking. It may surprise you to hear that neither Stallone or Crenna reprises their roles. So the fact that Rambo III is the most cartoonish take on the character should not be a surprise.

Like Part 2, this film is enjoyable and amusing for what it is, even though it lacks the emotion of First Blood. It is not for lack of trying. Both sequels tried to approach heavy subjects related to war, but their simplified approach to Stallone’s Rambo is far more angry than broken. The character suffers for it overall, and the action is pretty by the numbers, but still make for an enjoyable Stallone action film.

June 30, 2016 0

Forget the War (Rambo: First Blood Part 2, 1985)

Three years after First Blood, John Rambo came back. This time he was freed from Jail to go on a secret government mission in Vietnam, saving POWs. He is brought in by Richard Crenna’s Col Trautman at the request of Marshall Murdock (Charles Napier). Directed by George Cosmatos (who went on to direct fan favorite Tombstone as well as Stallone’s Cobra) we get a shift in the type of character and story.

This film ticks off all sorts of tropes, such as a tragic love story, betrayal by the government who hires him and so on. This film really pushes Rambo towards being a super hero. He is not merely highly skilled as a fighter…he is unbeatable. Bullets will miss him, but he will never miss.

First Blood Part 2 revs up the action and general violence, while toning down the tragic aspects of his character. The focus on POWs, of course, allows some of it to remain, tying it to the first film. But, tonally speaking, this feels unlike our introduction in First Blood.

The cast is good, though some of the characters are just gun fodder, meant to motivate Rambo. In some ways, this is the film that moved forward the Stallone Action Era, that made him into the character we think of Stallone as today.

June 29, 2016 0

The Unwinnable Fight (First Blood, 1982)

John Rambo, or as we tend to all call him, Rambo, seems like an unstoppable force. A Vietnam veteran who never really left the war and finds himself pulled into a never-ending series of conflicts. But his beginning was far simpler. in the early 80’s we saw Hollywood starting to explore the conflict known as the Vietnam War and especially it’s impact on American Soldiers.

First Blood (adapted from a novel by David Morrell) tells the story of John Rambo…he is wandering America, trying to come to terms with his experiences as a POW. There is a deeply ingrained mythology of how when soldiers returned from Vietnam they were greeted at airports by being spat upon and protested. Some research has disputed how much (if any) of this happened. But it is true that the soldiers returning from Vietnam were not greeted as war heroes. There were no parades.We did want to just kind of ignore them.

John Rambo begins the story wandering into the small town of Hope, Washington. He is in town for all of three minutes before being noticed by Sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) who invites him for a ride. Teasle drops him off at the city limits. But John is not so quick to give up and walk to the next town. But after returning he is quickly arrested and brought into the local jail. There he endures humiliation and disrespect at the hands of officers with no respect for our military men.

John reaches a breaking point and fights his way out of the police station and escapes into the woods. This creates a standoff, where John Rambo hides in the forest and mountains, crafting weapons and traps until his commanding officer (Richard Crenna) comes into the picture.

This film plays strongly to Stallone’s strengths as a gruff guy searching for healing and respect. In some ways, it is not a stretch to see similarities to Rocky. The film is a solid collection of established performers (Dennehy, Crenna and Jack Starrett) and up and comers (Chris Mulkey and David Caruso). Everyone delivers performances that keep you in the story.

Director Ted Kotcheff (who would go on to Direct Weekend at Bernie’s) shows a solid handle on the action, always keeping a fast pace. The film manages to be sympathetic to Rambo, while not presenting his actions as being right. He is a victim who reacts far to swiftly and violently, setting off a chain reaction. First Blood is a powerful action film with a heart behind it.

June 28, 2016 0

Theeeeeeey’re Back (Independence Day: Resurgence, 2016)

Twenty Years between sequels is a long time. There has been longer, but twenty years is nothing to sneeze at. The reviews that proceed me have been harsh, many suggesting that this is the worst film of the summer. But honestly? It’s an OK film. There are some decent quips. The effects are good. Goldblum slips into his role pretty seamlessly. Spiner pops back up and gets a beefed up role. Bill Pullman is the tortured Ex-President. Sela Ward is thr tough current president. Replacing Will Smith’s Captain Steven Hiller is his son Dylan Hiller (Jessie T. Usher). He is apparently annoyed with Jake (Liam Hemsworth) for almost killing him (accidentally) a few years before. Jake is the hotshot risk taker who saves the moon base (but getting no thanks for it). He is also engaged to President Whitmore’s now grown daughter Patricia (Maika Monroe), who works for the current President and is a former pilot. Then there is Floyd (Nicholas Wright, also one of the writers). He is in love with Rain Lao (Angelababy) the top Chinese pilot. Towards the beginning of the film, we are also introduced to Warlord Dikembi Umbutu (Deobia Oparei) and the standard sparring love interest for Goldblum, Catherine Marceaux (Charlotte Gainsbourg). If this seems like a long introductory paragraph? It is a lot longer in the film.

One of the big problems this film has? So much of the personal conflict feels entirely unnecessary. The conflict between Dylan and Jake could be removed entirely and not impact the film at all. Their relationship would not be lessened without it. What makes it worse is that really, the new character lack charisma and have terrible lines. The quips in the film are largely duds.

The movie follows the first film’s formula pretty closely. We spend an hour being introduced, or re-introduced to the leads (or at least, it feels like a long slow hour). We get a lot of destruction as the ship arrives. An “exciting” battle that fails, heroes stuck in the alien ship, heroes flying alien ship. A road trip with Judd Hirsch. Sure, some it is a bit jumbled around and it is all amped up a bit, because, well, it is a sequel.

The creature design is surprisingly pedestrian. The Alien Queen is suspiciously like the Alien Queen from Aliens, especially in her movements. The world building is a bit lazy. Yeah, they have alien technology, but it seems to be mostly applied to weapons and vehicles. How does it change other things? Communication technology seems to basically be smart phones, laptops and tablets. The world has been united since 1996, and I guess there might be some plausibility there, but the world is basically America, except for the continent of Africa, still run by Warlords.

The film also just ends very weirdly. No big speech, Spiner just runs into frame to set up the next film. And the screen goes black. So, no, this is not the worst movie of the summer (surely we cannot make such a claim seven days into summer). It is not the best either. It is an okay and underwhelming sequel.

June 27, 2016 0

Taking Our Planet Back (Independence Day, 1996)

24 Year old Me Reviews Independence Day: OMG! That was awesome! Cool Effects, funny quips. Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum was great! Bill Pullman plays the Version of a Democratic President Dean Devlina and Roland Emmerich wish Clinton was! Cool movie! Everyone should see it.

20 Years Later Me Reviews Independence Day: Ehhhhhhh…this is a pretty dumb flick. But in a weird way? That is part of it’s charm. Will Smith plays his standard Cocky Hero Guy, Jeff Goldblum is his standard nervous idealist guy, Bill Pullman is THE PRESIDENT, Randy Quaid is a version of his Uncle Eddie character (a version more deeply consumed by alcoholism), Mary McDonnell is the woman who must die to give Bill Pullman resolve (er, the First Lady) and Judd Hirsch plays Old Jewish Stereotype.

Visually, this film holds up pretty well. Considering it relies on practical effects as digital (as Digital Effects were still in their infancy) the destruction still looks convincing. The dogfights hold up and the aliens look quite good.

The writing is broad in the film. Folks speak in quips and dramatic phrases. Sometimes, as with Goldblum and Smith, this is effective. They carry the burden of most of the humor, Though Brent Spiner (Star Trek’s Data) shows up briefly to play an amusing and socially awkward Area 51 Scientist. Pullman plays earnest and plays it well. There is a speech in the film that could have gone off the rails, but his delivery makes it seem better than it is.

Of course, the “Rah Rah America” gets overbearingly embarrassing. The whole world was apparently sitting around waiting on America to come up with a plan to fight back against the aliens. There is a moment where a British guy tells another soldier that the Americans have a plan and he pretty much says “It’s about time”. The inspirational message to the world in the film? We are all America.

The overall cheesiness and goofy nature of the film does work to the film’s favor and it is the times when it takes itself to seriously that it feels like it will fall apart. And even 20 years later it can be fun to watch, especially for the visual effects and the main performances. And no matter who is in office, there are always going to be people happy to see the White House blown to bits.

June 26, 2016 0

This House Is Not Cleansed (The Conjuring 2, 2016)

2013’s the Conjuring was not the first attempt to bring Ed and Lorraine Warren’s adventures to the screen. Catholic ghost hunters and demonologists, Ed was a former cop and Lorraine proclaims to be clairvoyant. Their work began in the early 50s and by the time Ed Warren passed in 2006, they claimed to have investigated over 10,000 cases. the 1991 TV movie the Haunted was based on one case, as was the 2009 Haunting in Connecticut. James Wan brought us 2013’s the Conjuring. An unnerving and powerful thriller following the Warrens as they try and help a family be free of a demonic presence.

It was a surprise hit, and I suspect part of the surprise is that people did not expect it to be both engaging and hopeful. Wan made his name with the first Saw. Saw was a rather bleak film, where people were forced to endure torture to survive and gain a better appreciation of life. While the message was “don’t squander the gift of life”, the series proceeded to fight that very message after Wan moved on. The Conjuring introduced us to Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), a dedicated Christian couple determine to save the Perron family from the demonic.

The Conjuring 2 looks at a couple cases that made the Warrens famous in the 70’s. It begins with their investigation of the house at the center of the Amityville Horror. Their experience while investigating (in which Lorraine wanders the step through the eyes of Ronnie Defeo, Jr, who murdered his family) causes Lorraine to question if maybe they have knocked on the doors of hell once to often, are they pressing their luck? She asks Ed about stopping. Ed is more hesitant, not because he does not love or respect Lorraine, but he is still certain she has her visions for a reason.

Meanwhile, we are also following the Hodgsen family in Enfield North London. Peggy’s husband has walked out, leaving her to care for their four children. 11 year old Janet starts to hear a voice, but then it progress, she awakens in other parts of the house. There is pounding on the walls, things start to move, and most frighteningly, the spirit seems to have started to speak through young Janet. The Warrens are brought in by the Catholic Church to determine of this is a hoax, or a true case of demonic activity.

Unlike many horror entries, the Conjuring Films are not about waiting for people to avoid death. Instead, they focus on the hope and faith of the Warrens to help the families. They want to bring safety and redemption to the Hodgsen family. They find that young Janet is desperate to be believed. She has been abandoned by friends, cut off from her sibling by the time they have arrived. Both Ed and Lorraine connect with Janet by telling her how hard it was when they first saw spirits. One of the first things Ed calls for is bringing the family together (the other kids were not staying in the house with Janet and her mother). Ed buys Elvis records for the kids, because it was something they all loved to listened to before their dad left. When the record player does not work, they all sit in the living room and Ed leads them in a round of of I Can’t Helping Falling in Love…when the children and their mother join in singing, the song becomes more than a simple love song. It becomes a song of dedication to each other. To stand together.

It ends up being greater terror than they could have anticipated, but the Warrens cannot turn away from this family, even when it appears that, just maybe, they are being taken.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are engaging as the Warrens. The chemistry is there, and their love and compassion for others pours from the performances. I do not know if the film versions of the Warrens are accurate to the real life Warrens, but I tell you this, I really like the Warrens in these films. But they are not the only performances of note. Madison Wolf is compelling and heartbreaking. Her fear makes you want to do whatever you can to protect this kind hearted child from whatever evil is attacking her. Simon McBurney’s Maurice Grosse starts out seeming like your typical researcher excited by the potential for himself. But you find he is genuinely concerned for Janet and has very personal reasons for wanting to prove the existence of an afterlife.

Wan, along with screen writers Carey and Chad Hayes, have given us a story where everyone is likeable. You do not have characters that you want to see get their comeuppance, because there is not need for that. This is the battle of good versus evil on a higher reality.

Wan shows himself a master at thrills , building tension and delivering startled jumps. People will often complain about Jump Scares, but that is really more because they are often used cheaply. Wan delivers on the promises. Few things are as creepy as a child’s toy playing on it’s own. And there is a sequence that uses that very effectively. Outside of two moments where the Crooked Man is an obvious computer generation, the spirits are creepy and unnerving, providing powerful menace.

Wan and his crew have given us a second very effective story. It is chilling, yet full of hope and even love. The Warrens are a charming couple, the family sympathetic. Good horror is hard to do, good uplifting horror can be near impossible. But the Conjuring 2 pulls it off.

June 13, 2016 0