Apex Predators (Crawl, 2019)

Haley is somewhat estranged from her parents, but when her father is unresponsive to calls from her and her sister in the face of an impending hurricane, she drives into the storm to find him. When she finds him wounded in a crawlspace beneath the home, she discovers they are trapped by alligators. As water fills the crawl space they struggle to find a way out.

Director Alexandre Aja delivers a very tight thriller. It is exciting and dramatic, rarely slowing down. The performances from Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper are quite effective. Their relationship feels real as a father and daughter whose relationship is strained by unspoken issues-but they still love each other.

Really, Crawl is a great B-Movie in the man vs nature vein. It has some good scares and keeps a brisk pace. I definitely recommend this for folks wanting a good thriller.

July 29, 2019 0

Forced Friendship (Stuber, 2019)

Kumail Nanjiani is the titular Stu. Stu is a…uh… studious guy. He works to thankless job, and is helping a woman he is in love with start her own business. Meanwhile, Dave Bautista is the reckless and angry cop Vic. Vic is dedicated to catching the cop killing drug dealer Oka Tedjo. But on the day he gets eye surgery, he finds out that he only has hours to find Oka.

This leads to Vic Reluctantly ordered an Uber ride and forcing the driver, Stu, to take him around town tracking the villain down holding the promise of a badly needed Five Star Rating over his head.

The main things to like in the film is that Nanjiani and Bautista. They work well together, Bautista working his “tough guy muscles” and Nanjiani flexing his “nice but downtrodden guy muscles”. That part works really well.

Unfortunately, they are surrounded by a largely predictable and cliched story. They try and lampshade this, making light of the cliches, but the film never feels like it is truly having fun with the action premise as much as it appears they wanted to. I saw every major plot twist coming. And that is too bad…this film has a good cast (the leads are supported by Natalie Morales as the daughter of Vic and Mira Sorvino as Vic’s boss).

I am not saying you should avoid the film…it has it’s moments. It looks good and again, the cast is great. I enjoyed their interactions and performances. The movie is okay as a diversion for an hour and half of your time. I just feel like it could have been…more.

July 28, 2019 0

Fading Glories (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, 2019)

And so here we are at Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film (Apparently Death Proof does not count?). A pretty loving homage to the Hollywood of the 60’s, Tarantino weaves a tale of fading actor Rick Dalton and his best friend Cliff Booth and their place in it all. Cliff is less bothered, content to help out his friend and then spend the evening sitting in front the TV with his dog. But after a meeting with producer Marvin Schwarz, Rick is realizing he is becoming…well obsolete…and it scares him.

I suspect Dalton’s crisis is not uncommon in Hollywood…but does it make for a great story?

Yeah. It turns out that here? It sure does.

Now, of course, this is in part, due to the performances of both DiCaprio and Pitt as Dalton and Booth respectively. DeCaprio’s portrayal is both hilarious and endearing. Pitt gives Booth a real sense of casual cool.

The writing is both the cleverness we expect from Tarantino matched with compelling characters (there is a bit of a question if Cliff is maybe a darker guy, but the film leaves the door open on just how dark). I would say the weakest link in the main characters is Robbie’s Sharon Tate. Not because Robbie is a bad actress. She is charming and kind as Tate. There is a sequence where we see Robbie express insecurity turning to joy as she watches a movie she is in with an audience. Robbie sells this moment. But she feels so incidental to the story for much of the time.

The cast is just full of great talent… Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant and a pretty endless group bringing their A-game.

Visually, the film feels it is of another time, truly like a creature of the 60’s. And the soundtrack is darn near perfect.

My only real criticism is a somewhat lazy time jump that glosses over six months. But, admittedly, had they shown all of it, the film would be, like five hours long. And I do like listening to the Kurt Russell narration.

I found Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood great fun. Bear in mind, this is a Tarantino film…if you hate his previous work, I don’t think this will change your mind. But fans will appreciate this one for sure.

July 27, 2019 0

Tangled Webs (Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019)

After the massive epic that was Avengers Endgame, a smaller story to actually close stuff off may seem like an odd choice. And yet? Well, it may have been what was needed.

Bringing back director Jon Watts and the cast of Homecoming, we get a personal story in which Peter Parker really just wants to go on his school trip abroad and confess his love to MJ. But things are complicated. It turns out that pretty much every major character from Homecoming was caught up in the snap. And now they have to deal with the fact that all their classmates are now five years older. The film explores some rather interesting aspects…like all the returned people who were displaced. Peter and May found themselves homeless, which was one of those things you just do not thing about in the grand schemes.

It turns out that Nick Fury is trying to reach Spider-Man, but Peter refuses to take his calls. But once on vacation in Italy, the class comes under attack by a water monster, which is defeated by Mysterio. A mysterious man who Nick Fury informs Peter is from an alternate earth where he fought the threat of elemental men that are now plaguing Peter’s world.

Far From Home bumps up certain characters too much bigger roles, and it is to the benefit of the film. Holland and Zendaya have real chemistry and their storyline is both adorable and a lot of fun.

The Mysterio storyline is really well done. There is a scene where his illusion powers is straight up the stuff of the comics. The visuals in the film are terrific and Gyllenhaal gives a solid performance.

Unlike Homecoming, Happy seems more invested in Peter and Spider-Man. This makes sense on a few levels, but I really did enjoy their interactions in the film.

I really enjoyed this latest outing, even more than Homecoming. It is funny, has heartfelt moments, good performances and great visual effects. Oh, and stay for the Mid and Post Credit scenes. They are game changing moments.

July 10, 2019 0

Exes (Dark Phoenix, 2019)

So…after a long delay that has pretty much reached the point where the X-Movies from Fox seem to be just getting pushed out to clear the slate, Dark Phoenix has been released. This is the series second attempt at pretty much the same story.

Set about ten years after X-Men Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix opens with the X-Men as fairly beloved by the public. They are now celebrities, but on a mission in space, this is all jeopardized as Jean Grey is hit by a strange cosmic anomaly that causes her powers to grow exponentially.

This results in her finding out facts about her past that drive a wedge between Jean, resulting in a character dying due to her actions. A second group, expressing interest in her power tries to seduce Jean while the X-Men are fractured between those that want to save Jean and those who feel she should be dead.

And honestly…the second shot is not a redemptive one. The whole ten year jump deal seemed to cause more problems. There are plenty of indicators of interesting story stuff going on between the past two films. But it almost seems like they forgot about stuff they established in Apocalypse. They had established stuff like the Hellfire Club as far back as First Class and yet, leave them aside for a bland sub-story threat.

The film introduces a new threat that has never been seen before in the X-Men franchise…the series has never even suggested this type of threat is out there. It seems logical that it could exist in a universe of mutants, but it also feels entirely out of left field.

We have yet a new world ending threat that honestly…feels kind of boring. Characters are used blandly, Storm and Nightcrawler feel like characters that Kinberg forgot were in the movie until the big fight.

Apparently they had their big end fight in space and reshot the film to set it…um…on a train. And the train fight is pretty cool. But not enough to save the film. The effects work fine, and the mutant effects work fine.

A lot of the performances feel like the actors are kind of ready to be done with this series. Sophie Turner’s performance is the best…she gives a genuinely strong performance.

As the film likely to be the finale for the Fox Franchise, Dark Phoenix is a pretty weak send off. I was disappointed that they could not recover from the failings of Apocalypse. but hey…we finally got Dazzler…so that is something?

As an aside, I am a bit amused at just how everyone appears to keep ignoring the New Mutants and are treating this as the final Fox X-Men film. But let’s face it…we don’t know if we will ever see that one released.

June 8, 2019 0

The Bigger They Come Part 14 (Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, 2019)

Returning to the present after Kong Skull Island’s 70’s setting, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is our chance for some giant monster against monster action.

With a quick revisit to the destruction of the end of 2014’s Godzilla by Gareth Edwards, we meet the Russell family who are searching for their son while Godzilla fights the MUTOs.

Jumping to the present, Mark and Emma Russell are estranged, with Emma continuing her scientific work with Monarch. When Emma and their daughter Maddie are kidnapped by Echo-Terrorists, along with a weapon that allows for some communication with the titans, Mark is recruited by Monarch to help get them back.

It turns out to be more complex than that, some believe that the Titans are the key to healing the planet. But their confidence lacks important data that could doom the planet and humanity.

So… One of my complaints with Edward’s Godzilla was it’s slow drawn out reveal of Godzilla. This was the umpteenth version of Godzilla and the slow reveal was unnecessary and pretty annoying. Here, we get to start seeing the titans very quickly and dramatically. Director Michael Dougherty knows that a movie called Godzilla: King of the Monsters will need to deliver on the monsters.

And boy does he. The film has several exciting sequences as Godzilla fights the new renditions of classic ToHo monsters. The designs of the creatures are great, they have a sense of life and threat.

I also liked the human characters in this film. It was nice to see Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins return from the previous film. Chandler is solid as a character who would just as soon see the titans all dead, but is forced to confront his anger and bitterness to save his family and the world. Vera Farmiga is both sympathetic and frustrating as Emma, who loves her family, but seems to skirt the line of ethics in her choices. And Stranger Thing’s Millie Bobby Brown is very good as the surviving child who really wants to do what is right and also honor her lost brother. The film has a fun supporting cast as well.

I really enjoyed this film. The myth building, the action and the characters came together for crazy monster bashing fun.

June 1, 2019 0

A Superman Only a Mother Could Love (Brightburn, 2019)

A couple that lives in a rural area struggles to conceive a child, but one night, they discover a crashed spaceship containing a baby that they choose to raise as their own. The child is revealed to have great powers. But in spite of their best efforts…young Clark…uh… Brandon is corrupted by his power to do awful things.

So, yeah, Brightburn is basically, what if Superman was inherently evil. This is not a terribly original idea, though not one I am really opposed to being explored. But if you are going to explore Dark Superman, I would rather you do it with a stand in, like the Gunn Brothers and director David Yarovesky have done here.

They use some interesting symbolism (early in the film there is talk of a wasp that inserts their offspring into other hives). Visually, they stay very simple, with a clear Superman analog, the visual effects work quite well.

The performances are pretty strong. Denman is able to sell a father who knows something is wrong, but is unsure how to handle it. Meanwhile, Banks really clicks as the devoted mother who sees her son as a blessing and cannot accept he might be something darker.

And the story is dark. Among the creepier aspects is the hints of his twisted crush on a fellow student…and it insinuates a creepy future plan from Brandon for her (but thankfully the film never indulges in this…it is more subtextual). Jackson Dunn starts out sympathetic, but switches gears early on to be super creepy.

I enjoyed the film as a grim take on Superheroes and it works pretty well on it’s own. It is the Superman film Zack Snyder wishes he had made. An uncomfortable, creepy horror version of Superman, and it really does work quite well.

May 25, 2019 1

I Hate Mondays Chapter 3 (John Wick 3: Parabellum, 2019)

John Wick was one of those suprirse franchises. I went into the first film with low expectations…and had a great time with a basic revenge action film. I was sure that John Wick Chapter 2 would be the failed follow up and instead it turned out to be even a little better than the first.

So, does John Wick 3: Parabellum keep the momentum?

For the most part? A big yes.

Picking up directly on the heels of Chapter 2, there is a bounty put on Wick’s head and he is essentially excommunicated from the elite assassin community he had originally sought to get out of in the first place. But now it is a matter of survival. And Wick plans to go to the top. But his situation now means he cannot get any help from the support network he has had access to previously. This puts him in a situation where he spends much of the first act without guns.

But then, this is the trick of John Wick. Anything is a weapon in the hands of John Wick…anything. Take away the simplest and most obvious weapons? He will figure it out.

The weakest part of the film is that the film does not expand on the existing mythology in a way that is terribly interesting. The auditor who arrives to hold everyone who has helped Wick to account is okay, but I found the people above her less impressive.

On the other hand, the assassin fights are a lot of fun. And Mark Dacascos is highly entertaining as Wick’s direct opponent during the third act. The action choreography is a wild watch, especially some of the earliest confrontations.

The casting of these films is impressive. Every character, even the most minor, feel like the actor was cast with a serious intent. And the new additions, such as Halle Barry, are great.

One of the things that make the Wick films so enjoyable is that the action is pretty easy to follow. The fact that all three films were directed by Chad Stahelski is a strong argument for keeping a single visionary at the helm for a franchise. While not quite as good as John Wick Chapter 2, this film is a strong follow up that means the franchise has yet to truly falter.

May 24, 2019 0

Pokémon Is a Mystery (Pokémon Detective Pikachu, 2019)

I will be honest…I went into this film knowing very little. Pokémon rose to prominence at a time where it passed me right by. So, I sat in the theater basically knowing that Pokémon are super powered animal things that people catch or somethings.

Thankfully, Pokémon Detective Pikachu gives you just enough information to make it easy enough to follow.

Justice Smith is Tim Goodman…a young man who once aspired to be a Pokémon Trainer, but after his mother dies and his relationship with his father fell apart, he never even took on a Pokémon partner.

After he is informed his father is dead, he finds his father’s Pikachu, who has amnesia, but is certain that Tim’s dad is alive. Unexpectedly, Tim is able to speak with Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds). Reluctantly, the two try and determine what has happened to Tim’s dad.

This brings them into contact with Lucy, an aspiring reporter who is certain she is onto a dark secret involving Pokémon.

After the debacle involving Sonic the Hedgehog, it is interesting to see how successfully the filmmakers adapted the aesthetic of the cartoon designs to a live action setting. The various Pokémon simultaneously are cartoonish, but feel very plausible in the world we are watching.

The humor is well played throughout the film, embracing the absurdity of it’s premise. And there is a really good chemistry between Smith and Reynolds, they play off each other really well.

All in all, as someone that had no attachment to the Pokémon franchise, I had a lot of fun watching Pokémon Detective Pikachu. It was goofy fun, And the reviews from my two nephews (six and eight) was that they loved it.

May 23, 2019 0

Birth of the Demon Part 4 (Hellboy: the Golden Army, 2008)

Del Toro’s follow up introduces the most vicious tooth fairies you have ever seen.

An Elven Prince has decided that it is time for the magical world to rise up against humanity, breaking an ancient pact. He seeks the Golden Army, an ancient legion of un-living and unstoppable soldiers.

An elven princess (and twin sister to the prince) interferes and enlists the help of Hellboy and the Bureau of Paranormal Research.

This results in the team at the Bureau having to dive deep into a world of magic and wonder. Hellboy finds himself torn between the protection of the human world and the callous disregard of the lives of magical creatures. For Hellboy, this is personified in his relationship with Liz. He struggles with his insecurities, though, thankfully in this film, they left out Agent Myers, so it is not dragged down by that character. Instead, Hellboy struggles to see himself as more a man than monster. One of the things I liked in both films is this notion that Hellboy is not a slave to his heritage. His father believed in his ability to be a good man above a destructive monster, and in this film, Liz takes that role from Broome.

For Abe, it is deeply personal as he falls in love with the Elven Princess. There also is a lot of Bureaucratic interference, not just from Jeffrey Tambor’s Tom Manning, but from the (no longer human) Johann Krauss. Voiced by Seth McFarlane, Krauss is actually a very entertaining foil for Hellboy for much of the film.

This time around Del Toro fully embraces the whimsy and myth. The character designs or wonderful and grotesque, often at the same time (though the Elves are simply beautiful and angelic).

Perlman, Blair and Jones have a really solid chemistry and it delivers a believable close connection between these three characters who feel like they are always on the outside of the world they are sworn to protect. It is especially nice to see Jones getting to provide his own voice, getting to give a fully realized performance. He keeps the gentle tone, keeping this from feeling like a huge departure from the first film.

Hellboy: the Golden Army is much stronger than the first film in pretty much every way. The Golden Army holds up under repeated viewings and is a great film that has a lot of fun with its concept.

May 16, 2019 0