Just Because… (Warcraft, 2016)

So…apparently, a horde of angry and evil Orcs travel through a portal to take over the world of Azeroth. Some of the Orcs side with the humans, because “Not All Orcs” or some such.

To be honest? I watched this movie based on the popular Blizzard Entertainment open world game twice. I know people got super immersed in the game. I have never played it and do not know much beyond it is kind of like D&D…? And after two viewings, I remember very little about it. My last viewing was actually less than 24 hours from when I am typing this. And I absolutely have no strong memory about the film. Which is disappointing.

I remember it had Jesse Custer and Tulip from Preacher in it. And Ben Foster. And a sexy orc woman. Kind of a taller, more muscular Orion Slave Girl from Star Trek. Some magic powered guy talked about how he renounced his vows and wants to still help the kingdom fight the evil orcs. Lots of fights that did not make a whole lot of overall sense. Or rather the plot seemed remarkably inconsequential.

I kind of hate writing these types of reviews. I actually don’t like spending a tremendous amount of time tearing movies down. Certainly, so movies are so ridiculous that they inspire hilarity. And that can be a bit fun to write.

But Warcraft? It is a competently made film. It has a perfectly good cast. And this is from Duncan Jones, a director who I think is quite talented. And yet, it just was…painfully forgettable. Not a good sign since, according to IMDB, the title is actually Warcraft: The Beginning.

December 3, 2017 0

And Starring Jeff Goldblum as Jeff Goldblum (Thor: Ragnarok, 2017)

Thor has been a fun character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is cheerful, boisterous and powerful. He is also boastful and over confident. This drove his first film, while the second film seemed a bit aimless.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor had a vision of the end of Asgard. He left to get answers and was missing for Civil War. After Thor and Loki locate Odin, they are warned of the coming of Hela…their sister and the goddess of death Almost immediately Hela arrives and destroys Thor’s hammer. In their fight, Thor and Loki are separated and tossed into space. While Hela conquers Asgard, Thor finds himself on the planet Sakaar. Captured by the Grandmaster Thor must fight in the Contest of Champions..and the champion he must defeat? His pal Hulk.

Marvel has done pretty well in tapping directors with limited experience in big budget films and having it work out in their favor. Here they brought on New Zealander Taika Waititi, who is known for his unique comedies. Check out the films Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in Shadows and while laughing, you will likely not think “a Super Hero movie is next!”. But it pays off.

Thor is full of great action and humor. Unlike the previous two films, which were very earth centric, Earth has a brief cameo in the beginning. Otherwise the film is heavily focused on Asgard. To be frank, the previous films really failed to let Jane Foster shine and the relationship never had the strength of either Tony and Pepper or Steve and Peggy. So, the film quickly addresses that “they broke up”.

The film works to give most of the leads “something to come back from”. Thor must figure out who he is without his hammer, Hulk must get back to Banner, Valkyrie must reclaim her glorious standing as an Asgardian Warrior. There is not a lot to these arcs, of course, but the performances and interplay of the characters make it almost easy to miss.

The cast really makes the film. Hemsworth and Hiddleston have a solid chemistry together, where you buy right into their weird sibling relationship in which Loki will betray Thor over and over and Thor is still going to give him a chance. Tessa Thompson gives a real spark to Valkyrie, who could have been a pretty one note character. Cate Blanchett’s Hela is actually not any deeper than previous Marvel Cinematic villains, but Blanchett seems to have had a lot of fun in the role and the result is that I enjoyed her as a villain. It was great to see Mark Ruffalo back as Bruce Banner. The character is a bit shell shocked, which makes sense, as he has been “hulked out” for about two years, ever since the rampage in Age of Ultron.

And of course, there is Jeff Goldblum. The actor you hire when you want a Jeff Goldblum-esque performance. But seriously, Goldblum always delivers, and his Grandmaster is the Jeff Goldblumiest thing you will see all year. Unless Jeff Goldblum is Jeff Goldblum in another film before December 31st, 2017.

Thor: Ragnarok is a real blast of a film. It is light hearted, exciting and quite funny.

November 7, 2017 0

How to Be a Dad (Little Evil, 2017)

Gary’s life seems to be going pretty good. He just married his dream girl Samantha and he is working to get to know his new stepson Lucas. Lucas is a special child. As in, he is the spawn of Satan.

Gary does not, of course, accept this right away. But mysterious events and death seem to give signs that Lucas is not all right. Little Evil is a comedy brought to us by the same guy who made Tucker & Dale vs Evil. That film was a funny send-up of slasher films ranging from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the Wrong Turn franchise.

One might question where the humor is in the religious horror of satanic kids…but writer and director Eli Craig finds the spot where they can intersect. Ans as with his previous film, does so with some sweetness and heart.

After an Omen-like incident at school, Lucas and Gary are sent to counseling. For Gary, this means a support group for fathers (which is attended by his friend Al…a lesbian struggling with her stepson’s lack of athletic ability). There, he is initially assured that these types of things are normal. But as deeper research finds, there is a lot of tragedy that seems to follow Lucas. And so Gary struggles to find a way to stop the son of Satan.

The cast is a strong comedic group. Led by Adam Scott (Parks and Rec) the character of Gary remains largely sympathetic throughout the film, which is important for those moments when he “veers off the path of good parenting”. Bridget Everett’s Al could have stayed in it’s “Butch Lesbian” stereotype lane…but she brings such an exuberance to the character that Al stands out and of course, brings plenty of humor. Evangeline Lilly (Ant Man and Lost) has a role that could get overshadowed, but she brings the appropriate heart to the role.

Little Evil is a lot of fun, though it does not quite reach the levels of insanity of Tucker & Dale Vs Evil. This is partly due to the narrow nature. They are really parodying the Omen here. Unlike Tucker and Dale, where there was an homage a minute to some slasher film, Little Evil is more restrained.

If you liked Tucker and Dale, you will more than likely enjoy Little Evil. And I would dare say that as long as the subject matter does not make one too uncomfortable? Non-horror fans may enjoy it as well. The film has not gory, and the visuals are not terribly frightening. Afterall, the goal here is not scares. It is laughs and maybe a bit of sentimentality.

September 3, 2017 0

It Ain’t Easy Being Green (Green Lantern, 2011)

Two years before the Man of Steel, Warner Brothers had an opportunity to start building their cinematic universe. In simple ways, they could have started building. Hints of a bigger universe…start introducing characters who could cross the films. I have talked about the missed opportunity before.

The film introduces us first to the ancient evil Parallax trapped by the powerful Green Lantern Abin Sur. When some unfortunate astronauts stumble into his prison, he uses their fear to free himself and pursue Abin Sur. This results in Sur crash landing on earth and his magic ring seeking a worthy person. It chooses carefree pilot Hal Jordan. When he is dragged into space he is trained in the ways of Space Copping by Sinestro, Tomar-Re and Kilowog. Sinestro is dismissive of Jordan, thinking he is unworthy of being a part of the core. Tomar-Re and Kilowog are less certain. Hal returns to earth and tries to patch things up with Carol Ferris, a fellow pilot and daughter of the guy who owns Ferris Industries. Both are not noticing the changes occurring their friend Hector Hammond, who was infected by Parallax.

There is a final grand battle where Hal Jordan vanquishes Parallax into the sun all by himself. Note, Sinestro took a squadron of the finest Lanterns with him and they were all destroyed in seconds. The film also has a voice over from Tomar-Re declaring Hal the best Green Lantern ever! This is not a particularly good way to end the first film in a franchise. It clearly was not meant to be the only film in the series based on the end credits scene.

Characters appear that have no place and are used very poorly, such as Amanda Waller, who resembles he namesake not one bit. Using a universe ending villain in your first story pretty much means you have nowhere left to go. No other villain is going to feel like such a large threat after that.

Reynolds is rather charming, but ironically, he and Blake Lively have no onscreen chemistry in the film. The characters are bland, and how Hal uses the ring are not terrible imaginative (He makes a car! A jet plane! A Gatling Gun!). The effect are decent, but not really memorable. Maybe I hoped for better from the director of Casino Royal. But this film missed the mark on many levels and failed to take the opportunity to start building the franchise they wanted. Which I guess is all the better for Deadpool.

August 31, 2016 0