 The previous 'Sonic' film took me some time to really warm up to, but it has since become something I enjoy. I originally had my hang-ups about adapting a famous property into yet another "fish-out-of-water" story like, 'Smurfs,' or 'Masters of the Universe,' in which our hero's extraordinary home world is left behind to spend the majority of the film on Earth, trying to get back. 'Sonic' did this as well, but at the very least, things weren't as simple as that basic plotline idea. Plus, we had the resurrection of Jim Carrey.
However, there may be a bias here with me and the 'Sonic' franchise because these games were a significant part of my childhood. If these movies had been released in the early '90s, when Carrey and the Sonic franchise were both in their prime, and I was still young, I'd have loved them and probably made them favourites among titles that still sit close to my heart today, like 'Ghostbusters' and 'Ninja Turtles.' But alas, we weren't even at 'Toy Story' yet, as far as CG animation goes, so here we are. The nostalgia particularly pops for me with this sequel, as it introduces the likes of both Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), whom I remember fondly from a couple of my games, particularly, 'Sonic Triple Trouble,' which I was addicted to. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The sequel, here, picks up eight months after the first film's events. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) has been banished to a Mushroom Planet, and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is living the good life with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter). However, Sonic becomes easily bored and, with his super-speed powers, acts as a vigilante hero for the town of Green Hills, Montana. This leads to an "Uncle Ben" moment from Tom, who tells Sonic to be patient and responsible with his powers after Sonic pretty much tears up a city block. Eventually, Tom and Maddie depart for Maddie's sister's wedding in Hawaii, thanks to one of Sonic's incredibly handy Warp Rings (I gotta get some of those). Of course, Sonic goes hog-wild with the house to himself, but he has no idea what's coming. Sonic's "party" is soon disrupted by Doctor Robotnik and his new "friend," Knuckles, the Echidna, who has a hilarious "Drax"-like personality. Both are out for revenge; Robotnik's is obvious. Knuckles wants to honour his extinct Echidna tribe by finding the legendary Master Emerald, allowing whoever possesses it to bend reality to their will. Of course, once Robotnik gets hold of this information, he starts a scheme of his own, along with his old assistant, Stone (Lee Majdoub), to help Knuckles find the Emerald and steal it from him. Sonic's only real help is from a kid who idolizes him: a two-tailed fox named Miles "Tails" Prower. Miles Prower is a fun play on words here and even a part of the character's original history, showing that the writers here did at least a little homework. And that's what I do enjoy about these movies. Most of the time, if there's something out of place about the film as far as an adaptation goes, I do a little of my homework and usually realize the movie is pretty accurate. They're also not shy about the design of things. For example, here, we see Robotnik floating around in a big half-ball machine straight out of the games. While these films give me a certain sense of nostalgia, as so much about them is very '90s, I can't deny there was a thing or two that irked me here. The cliche of dancing to get out of a sticky situation at a rough and tumble bar is in here, for example, feeling a lot like filler. Also, like its predecessor, the jokes and gags are very "Dad." But I can't just sit here and point out everything I don't like about it. The film is meant for a younger audience; it's harmless, and again, I can't deny that the child within me sees the appeal. I'll say again: I'd have loved these as a kid. 3/5
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 Through and through, I consider myself a Mario Man. But there was something special I couldn't deny about those 'Sonic' games I had for my Sega Game Gear. I didn't even go for much else when equipping my Game Gear with fun because I always knew I'd have fun with 'Sonic' games and their "Blast Processing" (which gave Sonic his incredible speed). It sure beat putting around in the OG 'Mario Kart,' and to put a cherry on top of it all, those 'Sonic' games had some amazing, catchy soundtracks.
Two animated series came out to add to the fun of the 'Sonic' games. They ran parallel, but one show was far better than the other. 'The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog' was far more cartoonish, kid-friendly, and had several uncomfortable PSAs. The other, 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' provided an overarching story featuring characters who didn't exist in the games and told an environmentally conscious story without rubbing it in our faces. It was great! A Sonic movie should always have come from that concept for my money. But we got this instead, which many people still love. We start on Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) home planet, where he was born with super speed powers, and the land's native echidnas are constantly chasing him down for said powers. In his childhood, he was protected by an Owl named Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks), who, as far as I can tell, is brand new here. That might irk some, but the cartoon I loved did the same thing, so it wasn't a big deal for me. During one such chase, Longclaw uses a "Warp Ring" to send him through a portal to Earth so he can stay protected, sending a bag of rings with him. On Earth, Sonic grows up as a cryptid, often called the "Blue Devil." He suggests that he's living the good life, but this life of hiding has him lonely. As a result, Sonic throws a tantrum that causes a power outage throughout the quaint little town of Green Hills, Montana. Knowing he caused the blackout, Sonic tries hiding in Tom Wachowski's (James Marsden) garage, where he can get off Earth using one of his rings, away from the people who will now be looking for him. But when Tom busts in to discover Sonic, a mishap with the Warp Rings occurs, sending Sonic's rings through a Warp Hole to San Francisco. The loss of Sonic's rings sends him and Tom on a road trip to San Francisco to retrieve them. Why doesn't Sonic zoom over and grab them himself? He has no idea where San Francisco is or how to get there. In the meantime, the massive blackout Sonic caused has the government bring in Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey in what is arguably his resurrection), who eventually discovers Sonic is the source and could very well have the ability to supercharge his machines. Hence, their rivalry begins. The film all comes down to being a road trip chase movie, complete with Easter eggs for fans like me. The fact that it takes place in "Green Hills" is only the tip of the iceberg. There are relatively obscure references, too, like the "Mean Bean Machine," which is just a coffeemaker in the film. You even get to hear a bit of that classic Green Hills Zone music (if you know any music from the game, it's probably that theme). So, this is a pretty good choice for a movie that will appeal to the Genesis/Game Gear generation and kids who may be brand new to the 'Sonic' franchise. I wasn't as sure about the quality of this film the first time I saw it, but I have to admit that it has grown on me over time. With the help of Jim Carrey's comedic timing and showing us a lot of game familiarity, I credit the film for successfully executing the "fish-out-of-water" cliche. It's not just "Sonic on Earth". They do something with it, making him a cryptid and having him meet his arch-nemesis on Earth instead of someone just following through a portal. It's not quite the movie I wanted initially, but I'll be damned if I can't give this movie a bit of real kudos for doing a video game movie, perhaps not perfectly, but damn well. 4/5  A bit of a confession to the masses that a few people know about me is that when it comes to classically epic movies - you know, the kind that are often considered some of the greats, I don't end up watching them that often. I'll view them once or twice just to say I've seen them, but the collection of amazing movies out there I've only seen a handful of times, or even once, is pretty outstanding, and would shock people. 'Gladiator' is one such title, which I saw twice in theatres, twice on DVD, and I've left it alone for over two decades until now.
The great thing about being such a fan of film, yet having that approach to things, is that it allows movies to be "brand new" to me again, and I can enjoy them on that level I enjoyed them once in the past. Sometimes things like early CG can get in the way, but not in the case of something like 'Gladiator,' which overthrows anything bad about it (and there's not much) with a great story, bringing together bits of fact and fiction to create something truly epic, and arguably, one of the greatest films of all time. The whole thing opens up in the year 180 AD, where Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) leads Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Roman army to victory against Germanic tribes. As this puts Maximus in Marcus' favour, Marcus tells him of his crooked son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), whom he deems unfit to take things over. Instead, Marcus tells Maximus how he'd like him to take succession as regent, believing he would be a great leader who will be able to restore the Roman Republic. Upon finding this information out, Commodus gets understandably PO'ed, murders his father in secret, and proclaims himself the new Emperor of Rome. When he requests Maximus' loyalty, however, Maximus refuses, remembering what Marcus told him. That's when things go off the rails. As Maximus fails to pledge his loyalty, in turn, he eventually discovers the murdered bodies of his wife and family, and is eventually sold to gladiator trainer Proximo (Oliver Reed). The thing is, Maximus is not just some guy off the streets of Rome - he's a trained, professional war General, and has some skills. As Maximus keeps fighting through battles, mostly at Rome's Colosseum, his popularity rises, earning him the nickname "The Spaniard." But when Commodus organizes 150 days of gladiatorial games to commemorate his father, Proximo convinces Maximus that if he wants his freedom, he's gonna have to win over the crowd. His popularity may very well be the only thing that keeps him from getting killed, despite Commodus' dislike for him, as Commodus wants the respect of the Roman people. This is a film that still totally holds up, and I'd highly recommend checking it out again if you haven't seen it in a while. It's a friendly reminder that epic movies of the early 2000s could still be pulled off without needing a whole lot of CG, which, at the time, 'Lord of the Rings' was pulling off really well, but 'Star Wars' exemplified CG that hasn't aged very well. It was a mixed bag. But luckily, here, for cool scenes like the tiger brawl, they used real tigers and a teeny-tiny bit of CG and stuffed tigers for their deaths, and it still looks great. I remember this one getting all the accolades of the time, too. Twelve Oscar nominations, for example, winning five, including Best Picture. And if you go to IMDb right now, it is ranked as #34 in the Top 250 Movies of All Time. Any way you slice it, really, this is just one of those legendary titles that has gone down in cinematic history as something truly epic in every sense of the word. So go ahead and check it out if you've never seen it, and after you're done, ask yourself the big question; "are you not entertained?" 5/5  As the Sony-verse continued to unfold with its whole "Not-Sinister-Six" plan, I left 'Carnage' here with the same thoughts I had about its predecessor. The characters may not have been developed perfectly, but they looked great, were well-cast, and it's an easy movie to have fun with. Also, just like 'Venom,' while this didn't necessarily do well critically, the fans make it clear that it's not so bad, as long as you can let go of reality a bit. And you should for a character like Venom.
This one branches nicely off of 'Venom' and its stinger scene, in which we see Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) head into San Quentin State Prison to interview one Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). And if you've ever been any sort of fan of Venom, you know exactly who that is. While the MCU is the "King of Stingers," I can at least say there wasn't any confusion about what this was meant to lead to. Kasady simply leaves us with the promise of "Carnage" whenever he manages to get out, and a lot of us looked forward to the next chapter. We open here back in 1996, where we meet a young Kasady (Jack Bandeira), communicating back and forth through holding cells with his love interest, Frances Barrison, AKA "Shriek" (Naomie Harris), who is more or less revealed to be a mutant, in so many words, to keep it nice and legal. She is taken from St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children, where she fell in love with Cletus, and forced to be separated and taken to the Ravencroft Institute, where she and her mutant abilities will be more secure. This leaves Cletus stewing for several years. In the present, Det. Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) contacts Brock (who's still bonded with Venom, but keeping it on the down-low), telling him that Kasady wants an interview. Hesitantly, Brock agrees, and during their one-on-one, a little piece of Venom is taken from Brock, eventually bonds with Kasady, and Carnage is created. Their bond is almost perfect, and their motivation goes from prison-break and break-out Shriek, to much more sinister things, and it's up to Venom to put a stop to it. Meanwhile, there's a secondary plot involving Eddie's ex-fiancée, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) and her engagement to Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). This is where I find the film kinda tries on the 'Spider-Man 2' concept on for size; his love interest likes someone else, lacks feelings for him, and it all boils down to his superhero life interfering with his normal one. It works out here, but in some ways, does feel like a copy. That said, I still mean it when I say I think this one is slightly more fun than its predecessor. For as much as I love the casting of Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, I think it's safe to say that Woody Harrelson really steals the show here as Cletus Kasady. The man does "psycho" very well, and there's a real intimidation to his look at times. You can tell he's having a ton of fun with the role, and I love how much his character embraces the chaos that is Carnage, constantly letting his Symbiote take the wheel. On the flipside, they brought out the more fun aspects of Venom, which may have been a risk, but I remember "fun" Venom from the original Playstation game, so I embraced it pretty easily. When it comes to the Sony-verse movies, it's clear that 'Venom' is their bread and butter, while 'Morbius' and 'Madam Web' failed miserably. The 'Venom' movies may not have been perfect, but at least one could find some fun in them. The Symbiotes here, at least look good and don't need to peel back their face to show their inner celebrity every five seconds (Topher!), making them feel more familiar. For me, the 'Venom' movies are just a friendly reminder that sometimes the superhero genre just doesn't need to be taken seriously, as long as a good time is had. 3/5  The Sony-verse (as far as Spider-Man-related movies go) is a very hit-or-miss situation altogether. While the animated 'Spider-Verse' movies are entertaining, artistic, clever takes on stories about Miles Morales, giving Sony its own Spider-Man after Disney/Marvel took Peter Parker away. That's a whole situation I wish the hell I knew why Sony wasn't capitalizing on, but they decided to go a different route instead; the frankly overall disappointing route of trying to make some kind of a fake-ass Sinister Six for themselves.
For my money, the only half decent live-action movies that exist in the Sony-verse are the Venom films, starting with this new, but not bad take on the character. By the time this came out, a lot of us went with the idea that it couldn't possibly be worse than 'Spider-Man 3's take on the character. In the end, it pretty much completely divided audiences. Critically, these didn't do so hot, but fans (and myself) were at least able to cut it a little slack, because, hell, the character was just done really well. When a space mission that includes the quick name-drop of "Jameson" (Chris O'Hara) goes wrong, and their ship crash-lands on Earth, three of four "Symbiotes" (an alien organism that attempts to bond with a host) are quickly collected by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), who understands that successfully bonding with these things could be a next step towards our human evolution, allowing us to explore space, and potentially finds more planets to inhabit. However, a fourth Symbiote (Venom) manages to escape the wreckage. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) enters the scene to report on Drake, and give him a hard time with some top secret files. As a result, Brock loses everything, including His job, and his fiance, Anne (Michelle Williams), who happened to work for Drake's company. However, Dr. Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate), who works for Drake and realizes what he's doing with these Symbiotes, secretly invites Brock back to the lab to expose Drake's experiments. This is where the Venom Symbiote finds and bonds with Brock. It's revealed that the Symbiotes' general purpose (at least for this movie) is to invade planets, possess and devour their inhabitants, and move on. If Eddie helps Venom with this, he may just be spared. However, the pair soon find themselves in over their heads when the aforementioned fourth, escaped Symbiote (Riot) finds his host, ready to continue their alien goals, while Venom ends up finding a bit more of a human/righteous side to himself while bonded with Brock, and helps Eddie become the film's hero. The whole Venom storyline has more or less fallen by the wayside as far as trying to get a live-action version of it to be everything we want it to be. 'Spider-Man 3' screwed it up, and this storyline is just very different, with its own ideas and concepts. I was never too mad at it though, considering what was done with 'Spider-Man: Homecoming,' being an MCU original take on a much more popular character, and enjoying that just fine. Why should this have been any different for me? In the end, I can fully admit that I find this movie to be a lot of fun, and although the story isn't "correct," the character (I find) is done well. This is definitely not everyone's Venom, and I think it's safe to say that aside from the original comic book take on things, one should definitely refer to the 1994 animated series for the original story. That said, if you're new to the character, I don't think this is a bad place to start. While these films remain the best part of the Sony-verse, however, they're far from perfect, or even that wonderful. But if you're looking for a bit of a roller coaster ride, and are open to a few changes here and there, this is just fine for what it is. 3/5  At the end of 2016's 'Deadpool', we got our typical-by-now post-credit sequence, involving Deadpool doing a take on the post-credit scene to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', and ultimately teasing us that the film already had a sequel in the works with the casting of famed badass, and never-before-used Cable in mind. We were ready for it, and the rumour mill started up on who was gonna play Cable - most famously, Brad Pitt, but we'll come back to him in a bit. It was one of the more discussed topics among friends until they cast Thanos, himself, Josh Brolin.
I think everything worked out for the best in the end, but instead of talking about casting, maybe I should just get into the film itself. Riding on the coattails of the ultra-successful, R-rated 'Logan', this one actually opens with a dose of tragedy, and another great opening sequence with humorous credits, this time parodying the 'Bond' movies. Even though this all happens right at the beginning, and the film is on the older side at this point, I'm still not gonna say exactly what happens, but it does lead to Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) entering a deep depression, which makes him search for a greater purpose. Soon enough, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic (Brianna Hildebrand) come back into Wade's life, in another attempt to recruit him to the X-Men. Wade reluctantly agrees, and is soon given his first mission; to try to help a destructive young mutant by the name of Firefist (Julian Dennison) before things go wrong. That particular "wrong" involves killing the headmaster of his orphanage (Eddie Marsan) who want to cure him, and consider his mutant abilities a sin. That murder will ultimately direct him down a dark path of destruction. We learn of this destruction through the aforementioned Cable, who travels from the future to "present day" (2018) to get to Firefist early, and prevent him from eventually growing up and slaughtering Cable's family. The kid then becomes Deadpool's go-to source for having a change of heart and ultimately doing the right thing by not only preventing his 'T2'-like murder, but also trying to set him on the right path. Although the jokes and gags here are plenty, this one is still quite a bit darker than the first, and a better glimpse into Wade's more serious side (small though that side may be). I might suggest that this chapter of the 'Deadpool' series might have been better for the time, especially with the introduction of 'X-Force', which was the original direction these films were heading. We were introduced to characters like Domino (Zazie Beetz), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgård), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Vanisher (remember when I mentioned Brad Pitt?) and of course, Peter (Rob Delaney). I may argue that things really did turn out for the best in the end, when these films took a different direction with 'Deadpool & Wolverine', but still, an 'X-Force' movie lead by Deadpool could have been a lot of fun! So this now kind of suffers as a bit of a hinge movie with different expectations by the end of it, but I will say that it's not something in plain sight. It's not like the movie left us with a major cliff-hanger for the upcoming 'X-Force' movie. Instead, we actually get a time-travel sequence that lends itself more to the direction they went with the series. One might call it a happy accident, but one might also just say that the concept of time travel opens too many easy doors. But that's the nice thing about Deadpool - either way you slice it, we're gonna have fun with it. It's hard for me to say whether I like this one of the first one better, but I do feel like the first had more going for it as a film the fans were clamouring for. That's not to say this wasn't effective, it's just that we've seen what DP can do at this point. On top of that, this now carries that "What if?" scenario involving 'X-Force' that we never got to see. But there's still enough here in fourth wall-breaking, jokes, gags, cameos and all-around action that it's a super solid and super worthy sequel to its predecessor. Just thank god 'Deadpool & Wolverine' picked up some of the missing pieces! 5/5  Going back to 2016, it just took one thing for us geeks to hear before we were foaming at the mouth like wild dogs in anticipation for this movie. And that was the R-rating! All we could do was imagine all the possibilities, and it delivered on all fronts. Fourth-wall breaking aplenty, sure, but also sex, violence, foul language, suggestive moments - everything that makes Deadpool awesome was there. We needed things set right after that Baraka-looking Deadpool given to us in 'Origins: Wolverine', and we GOT IT!
Cutting right to the chase, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) works as a mercenary for hire. After he meets the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), life is looking better than ever, however, he becomes riddled with El Cancer, and soon desperate situations call for desperate measures. He agrees to an offer that he is told will not only cure his cancer, but give him the abilities of a superhero. Instead, Wade is subject to a torturous nightmare which eventually gives him the ability to heal from basically everything, and the ordeal leaves him deformed. This was all done by the hands of a dude who likes to call himself Ajax (Ed Skrein), and his assistant, Angel Dust (Gina Carano), and most of the film is centred on Wade's revenge against the pair for turning him into a freak. Armed with a killer sense of humour, a rapid healing factor, blades and bullets, nothing can stop him! Nothing short of Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), that is. In my opinion, the best way to look at it is that they're basically representing a PG-13 rating telling an R-rating what it should be doing while the R-rating doesn't really care. We've become accustomed to superhero movies thinking a bit more outside of the box by now, but just think about it being early 2016 at this point. The most well-regarded superhero movie at the time was probably still 'The Avengers', with 'Civil War' right around the corner, meaning Spidey wasn't even a part of the MCU yet. For the time, between the R-rating, fan service, fourth wall-breaking and Ryan Reynolds being awesome for helping to bring it all together, this was one of the best superhero movies of all time. Arguably, it still is. A couple more characters we are introduced to throughout the movie also help form what becomes Wade's inner circle; eventually what he calls his family. There's the lovable cab driver, Dopinder (Karan Soni), his bartender and close friend, Weasel (T.J. Miller), and his senior, foul-mouthed roommate, Blind Al (Leslie Uggams). While none of them are deeply essential to the plot, all of their back and forth banter with Wade/Deadpool make for some of the funniest moments in the film. Because the studio actually wised up and let the crew do what they wanted with the movie, its one that still completely holds up, and I'd argue set the bar just a little higher for things to come - namely a new batch of 20th Century Fox superhero titles with a darker tone to them. They were even playing with genres for a bit when you get right down to it. If this was a comedy, 'Logan' was a western, and 'New Mutants' was set to be a horror, originally slated to air in April of 2018, before 'Deadpool 2'. It would have been interesting to see where that all could have gone, but here and now, I'm kinda glad it didn't completely work out. Still, however, I can't help but give this film all the kudos it deserves for really, truly listening to its audience, and providing us with a winning product that didn't really seem to get on anyone's nerves with any kind of predictability, or cliched moments. The plot is incredibly basic for a typical superhero movie, sure, but I almost feels like that adds to the experience, as Wade is just cracking fourth-wall jokes throughout. It works for what it needs to be, and its a superhero movie everyone can enjoy, if only because its just so damn fun! 5/5  Way back in the late 90s, there was a whole slew of movies about natural disasters, becoming the "bar-setter" when it came to box office success. It's funny to think about what made a fun box office thriller before the turn of the century, but I do have very fond memories of the era. Whether I went with friends or by myself, I found my love of movies within this time by hitting up the theare almost every weekend. So there will be a bit of a bias towards this movie for me, if only because it reminds me of a simpler time.
When I say "simpler time," here, I'm not so much talking about my life as I am the box office, and what made a hit. This was before superheroes got good, predates 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter', and it marks a time when I remember people just being more forgiving about the execution of a fun, popcorn action movie. And really, that's all 'Twister' should be viewed as. These movies aren't without faults, but they do remind us of a time we could just strap in and go for a ride. It's still how I try to watch movies today, although it doesn't always succeed. Truth be told, this was one a dear friend showed to me at his house shortly after it was released on VHS (it's what predated DVDs for all you kids), so I missed it on the big screen. But it, combined with the release of 'Independence Day' earlier that year, is probably (arguably) the beginning of the 90s disaster movie era, and I definitely caught the bug. The whole concept of "Man vs Nature" was always something I liked, and it was cool to see something a bit more grounded and "real," which added to the fear factor of everything. Kicking the whole thing off with a fairly devastating scene involving one Jo Harding's (Alexa PenaVega) childhood, the movie begins with the experience that would turn her into the adult storm chaser she would become (Helen Hunt). Leading a team of other storm chasers and scientists, she hopes to one day be able to deploy an invention they have dubbed "Dorothy," which will be able to study wind patterns and such with little sensors and make storm predictions much more accurate. Said design comes from the mind of Bill (Bill Paxton), Jo's estranged husband. He has since gotten out of the storm-chasing game and become a weatherman due to his uncanny ability to read the skies. He has also settled down and gotten engaged to a reproductive therapist named Melissa (Jami Gertz). Bill brings Melissa with him for some reason to get his and Jo's divorce papers signed, but upon meeting up with Jo, Bill gets sucked right back into the game, especially knowing that his vision of Dorothy has been made and is ready to be tested. Bill, Jo and the rest of the team (which includes the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Alan Ruck, among others) also get a fair shake of competition with a jerk named Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes), who ultimately stole Bill's ideas for Dorothy, and hopes to beat them to the punch. Otherwise, a lot of the film involves storm-chasing, going one by one, conveniently according to scale of the twisters they chase, with a grand total of five, and perhaps providing a bit of predictability after the second tornado. While the film may not be quite as riveting or exciting as it once was, since so much more has been released since, there's still an obvious "something" to it. The release of '24's long-gap sequel of 'Twisters' released to some pretty solid box office numbers, all things considered. Is nostalgia the main factor? Or has it just been that long since we've had fun with tornadoes that don't have sharks all up in them? Either way, I do consider this a mild classic in its own right. It's by no means perfect, and often absurd, but nevertheless still kinda fun. 4/5  Here's an interesting example of a film with interesting timing. Released in the beginning of 2020, this happens to be one of the last films I saw in theatres before everything shut down, thanks the that horrible C-word (and I don't mean the one that's often okay to say in Britain). So, I guess it could be said that I have a little bit of a soft-spot for this, as it stands as a reminder to me that sometimes we just want to be entertained, even if the film is a little off the wall. 'Bad Boys' was always a good example of such a thought.
I even remember that at the time, I was looking at this as one of those rare, hidden gems that could be found within the deep, dark pit that is the January/February dumping zone. It's the same every year, lately (save maybe for 2021 and 2022), but as long as one has their eyes peeled for them, these not-so-hidden gems can be found. 'Bad Boys for Life' was definitely one of these, and provided another rarity in reaching into our nostalgia and not messing it all up! I mean, here we have a title that probably should have sucked, just based on what it is - a third title that no one was really asking for at the time, cranked out about fifteen years too late. And when you look at the critic's consensus for 'Bad Boys II,' it's a little bit surprising that they have decided tho push forward with the 'Bad Boys' franchise. But I'll be damned if they didn't grasp at our nostalgia and fully succeed. I might consider this the weakest of the bunch at this point, but it's still about as fun as a 'Bad Boys' movie ought to be. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) come speeding back into our lives, and we welcome them with open arms. Honestly, I remember feeling it when I was sitting there in the theatre, as if to say "I didn't realize I missed this." Just as we fondly remember the pair, Mike's still confident in his driving skills, while Marcus reluctantly goes along for the ride, on the edge of vomiting all over that sleek interior. The perfect scene to snatch us back up after so long of a wait. After a bit of fun chaos, we find out Marcus has a newborn grandchild, and during a celebration, Marcus mentions retirement. This pretty much goes against Mike's thoughts of being partners forever, calling back to their mantra - "we ride together, we die together, bad boys for life" (pulled from 'Bad Boys II'). Before they know it, their friendship is tested, when a case very personal to Mike pops up, and Marcus refuses to get back into things, and become the family man he wants to be. There's actually quite a bit that happens in between all that, I'm not gonna lie, but this is one of those movies that's full of interesting surprises along the way, so no spoiler territory here. More will be revealed in the review for 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die.' Interestingly, in its own way, even for a balls-to-the-wall 'Bad Boys' movie, things get pretty deep here. It was actually a great film for developing both Mike and Marcus, as it peels back some never before seen layers to them, humanizing them a bit more than they were before this. Directorial team Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (credited as Adil and Bilall) had to have been fans of those original films, as they do a solid job here in keeping the R-rated heart of 'Bad Boys' alive, but making it their own thing. I think if you liked the first two, this one will be just as entertaining. That said, I still love the action-fest that is 'Bad Boys II' a bit more than this, but remember that I go against other critics on that. It's a good resurrection to the series here, and Adil and Bilall do these Bad Boys justice. 4/5  I think this is a good opportunity to get something perfectly straight about my opinions on Michael Bay. I've felt for quite some time now that Bay has always been a pretty damn great action movie director as long as he keeps his hands out of the cookie jar that was my childhood with things like 'Transformers' and 'Ninja Turtles'. If he takes the director's chair on something more original, like the 'Bad Boys' films here, or even 'The Rock', and to a lesser extent, 'Armageddon' (say what you will about that movie, the cast is still its best feature).
Despite what critics have to say about this particular chapter being the lowest rated on the batch with a super-rotten rating of 24%, I am personally stuck on how insanely fun the movie is, and it serves as a friendly reminder that Michael Bay is out to entertain us the way action movies were always made to. To be fair, "there's no way that you could perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork." as the great film 'Hot Fuzz' reminds us. But to also paraphrase the film, this is a movie made for someone who just wants to switch off that brain of theirs. Taking place eight years after the first film, Miami PD detectives, Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) investigate the trafficking of ecstasy, looking out for a huge career bust. However, while usting up a Klan meeting in search of the drugs, a shootout occurs, Mike shoots Marcus in the butt, and we soon learn that in the background of all this, Marcus is intent on changing his job up to something a little safer, and leaving Mike as his ride-or-die partner. In the meantime, unbeknownst to Mike and Marcus, Marcus' sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union) works undercover for the DEA as a money launderer for the Russian mafia, headed in Miami by drug lord Hector Juan Carlos "Johnny" Tapia (Jordi Mollà). Of course, when family gets involved, "shit gets real." Marcus not only had to watch out for his sister while trying to bring down a drug lord, but also unbeknownst to him, Mike and Syd are secretly a bit of an item. So as one can probably tell, a lot of the comedy comes from Marcus' mystery here. I think just to be fair, I should mention that even in the era of 2003, there are a few jokes and gags here that one can't necessarily get away with these days, and there's some degree of homophobia going on here. But IF you can see this as a product of its time, and look past some of the more unfortunate material, as far as action movies for the sake of action, this has got to be one of the best. Not only does it feature one of my favourite all-time car chase sequences, but it's also where I fell in love with single-take action sequences. Of course, I cannot talk about this film without talking about Reggie (Dennis Greene), introduced here for the first time as Marcus' daughter's first date. In one of the funniest scenes in the series, Marcus and Mike test Reggie's character, and you kinda feel bad for the poor kid. That said, his character goes through some of the best background development over the next couple of films. I will be sure to mention him in the next couple of reviews for the series, as he just adds to the fun of it all. So, while there may be a detail here or there that wouldn't necessarily fly these days, I feel like I can still recommend this to those who are looking for some high-octane action. You can definitley back-to-back the first two, but know that they both stand on their own all the same, and while the first is more substance, this one's all about style (but like, in a good way). Just go into this knowing full well who was sitting in the director's chair, and it can be a super fun time! 4/5  For as much as I actually enjoyed the most recent of these films for what they were as decently done bits of nostalgia, I can honestly say that they really don't have anything on the first two Michael Bay flicks for me. And oh yeah, I say that knowing full well that 'Bad Boys II' is the lowest-rated among them. Hell, that one's actually my favourite, but we'll get to all that in that review. For now, let's go in the way-back machine to 1995. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence were established comedy TV superstars with their respective shows, and ready to move on up.
As it turns out, the casting for this new concept for a different take on a buddy cop movie couldn't have worked out better. The film introduces us to funny but fierce family man, Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and smooth-talkin' lady magnet, Mike Lowrey (Smith); a couple of renegade cops whose foul language and violent attitudes were perfect for us 12-13-year-olds back in the day who were actively watching 'Fresh Prince' and 'Martin' at the time. So yeah, I fondly remember some parental units having a time with this, and that's just part of what makes it classic. Lifelong friends, the pair have become narcotics detectives for the Miami PD, under their Captain, Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano). Upon their biggest career bust of $100 million worth of Mafia heroin, they, and the rest of the department come to work one day to find the evidence cleared out from the evidence vault. Unless they can recover said heroine in the next 72 hours, Internal Affairs, headed by Alison Sinclair (Marg Helgenberger), threatens to shut down the whole department. This leads Mike to seek out one of his informants, Maxine Logan (Karen Alexander), to look for suspects who have suddenly become rich, leading her, along with her friend Julie Mott (Téa Leoni) to be hired as "escorts" by former crooked cop, Eddie Dominguez (Emmanuel Xuereb). Soon enough, the party is crashed by Dominguez's French drug kingpin boss Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo) and his henchmen, almost immediately leading Mike and Marcus into murder territory along with their efforts to relocate the stolen heroin. As Julie becomes a surviving witness, wires become crossed on the identities of Mike and Marcus, providing some comedy throughout most of the movie in which Marcus has to try to pose as Mike, and vise-versa, to some pretty comical results. It's funny, I'm not generally for a lot of bickering in movies, but there's something about Smith and Lawrence's back-and-forth in these movies that one can't help but love. I think more than anything it's the couple of times they use their anger for each other on other people, which not only gets funny, but somehow kinda badass as well. What I liked best about checking this out recently for the first time in years is that it provides one hell of an interesting time capsule. This was before Smith became a box office draw of immeasurable proportions, and it's also when Martin Lawrence was in his prime. To top it all off, I just remember this being a hard-R-rated movie for the time due to its violence and language, and being one of those movies a guy like me almost had to sneak around to finally see. I got to it upon its video release, but I've always hated the fact that I never got to see it on the big screen... maybe one day. Is it worth going back and checking out now? Does it hold up? Well, it was 1995, so there's a few bits and pieces of it as far as tech and police-working technique that's more than bloody likely dated to all hell at this point. That said, I really must say that this was something that helped define Michael Bay's overall style, and it was all so much better when it was still in the 90s. It's high action, swearing, violence, explosions, and fast camera work at its finest, and as a classic action flick, I can still highly recommend it! 4/5  While it was never at the tip-top of my list of action series from the past, the fact of the matter is, somewhere along the way, the 'Mad Max' series picked up one hell of a following. All throughout the 90s and early 2000s, I can recall several references and quotes from peers that gave it a known cult following, even if I wasn't part of the cult.
Eventually, as with a lot of movies these days, we also felt the need to revisit it with some nostalgia. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't, but this is definitely a case of things working out for the best! If you were to ask a 'Mad Max' fan what their favourite 'Mad Max' movie was before that, the odds seem to work out that it teeters between 'Road Warrior' and 'Thunderdome'. 'Fury Road' decided to capitalize on the idea of 'Road Warrior', but bring in some new and interesting things that are perhaps reminiscent of the car chase sequence in 'Thunderdome'. Of course, the highlight here being some random dude, bounding around on bungee cords, wailing away on a flame-spitting electric guitar. It's imagery that's so messed up and weird but altogether bad ass that we don't even question it. It's just pure "metal"! Another thing 'Fury Road' brings in is female lead, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). She takes a group of innocent girls away from the clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a tyrannical madman who rules over a section of post-apocalyptic Australia. He has full control of the populous' water, and the flow of "mother's milk" which is, well... mother's milk, being harvested as a hot commodity for trade in these times. The girls Furiosa takes from Joe are his "wives", meant for the sole purpose of breeding... and one of them is pregnant. The chase for this pregnant woman and a potential son for Joe is pretty much what fuels the chases in the film. Along the way, of course, a wandering Max (Tom Hardy) joins the party in all his awesomeness, and lends aid to these women. They are also eventually joined by a psychotic worshipper named Nux (Nicholas Hoult), convinced that one day Joe will take him with him to the gates of Valhalla. He has one of the more interesting character arcs throughout the film, and his makes for an interesting B story. While Max is still a main character, the film does a decent job of still focusing on the characters of Furiosa and Nux, and providing some good storytelling amid all of the incredible practical action. While the action is largely what makes this movie so awesome, I can honestly also say that I care more about the characters in this chapter as opposed to anything before this. So when the action takes its breaks, I'm never bored and focused on these new, likeable characters almost more than Max, himself. I'd say the best way to view this film is to think of it as one long car chase with slight breaks in between, providing one of the best practical action movies in recent history! However, I will say this about it - there is a bit of a "Big Screen, Big Deal" thing going on with it. In other words, it was a film that rocked my socks on the big screen in 3D, and while it's still fine on my TV screen at home, it just isn't the same. 'Avatar' is probably the primary example of such a film in said category, and I have to say, this has its similarities as far as its effect goes. However, this still has a lot to be admired about it based on some of its original ideas, heart put into old ideas coming back, and of course, a complete smorgasbord of practical effects. If it ever finds its way back into theatres, even though I can still recommend it either way, as probably one of the best action films in recent history, you should definitely go out and catch it the way it was meant to be seen. This one is hands down my favourite of the batch. It's like some sort of heavy metal roller coaster! 5/5  If I'm gonna be perfectly honest about the 'Mad Max' series and my personal taste, it has never been a series I truly loved or held close to my heart in any way. But I do enjoy looking back on them as fun action films that use a good amount of practical effects and stunts, making everything that much more natural and frankly better in execution. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure why this whole concept never really attached itself to me, because by all accounts, it's nevertheless appreciated by me. But I swear the only one I truly love is 'Fury Road'.
Having said that, I must admit that 'Beyond Thunderdome' actually sits as the one I probably find the second-most entertaining of the batch. 'Thunderdome' did a good job of doing something new with the series by introducing the likes of Bartertown and its infamous Thunder Dome, where, by law, disputes are solved in a fight to the death in what appears to be a giant jungle gym. Two men enter, one man leaves, and the whole thing is run by Tina Turner (as the character Aunty Entity). Max finds himself stuck in Bartertown after his motorised vehicle one might be able to call a souped up car is hijacked by a bandit named Jedediah (Bruce Spence) and his son (Adam Cockburn). It seems kinda unclear as to whether or not Jed is the same character from 'Road Warrior', but I believe we're supposed to assume it is, all things considered. Anyway, Max follows the trail to Bartertown where he meets Aunty Entity, who offers to resupply him if he takes on "Blaster" for control of Bartertown. "Blaster" (Paul Larsson) is a burly bodyguard for "Master" (Angelo Rossitto), a little person who rides around on his back, and together they call themselves "Master Blaster", which, if I'm not mistaken, has since become a fun game to play in the pool. Aunty's motivation for this is to kill Blaster so she can get to Master and bend him to her will, and take control of Bartertown. Things don't go quite right for Max, however, and he is eventually sent into exile on horseback, with no supplies. It's not long until Max is discovered by a tribe of children and teenagers who are descendants of survivors of a plane crash, and who believe Max is there to save them all and take them to "Tomorror-morrow Land"; essentially what they believe to be a thriving city that has survived the apocalyptic wasteland that is the world of 'Mad Max'. Disillusioned, some still believe in such a place, as Max tries to stop them from leaving and ultimately getting themselves killed. But, as it goes, some kids just don't listen. What follows is where the film kinda takes off, as Max and a bunch of reckless kids infiltrate Bartertown in search of the rest of the kids as well as Max's vehicle. Like all of these first three movies, it's really the last half hour plus of action that makes the film worthwhile. This took everything cool about 'Road Warrior', cranked it up, and added some lore to the whole world. At times it cal feel a bit draggy (I never did like the chanting of these kids), but altogether, it's a solid execution, and I'd argue the characters are just more memorable here. A little extra is added here with Tina Turner's song 'We Don't Need Another Hero' on its end credits, and I'm personally a sucker for those retro credit tunes, so for me, it just adds to the whole experience of the time and era this film was released in. It's like a reminder that it IS a cheesy 80s action film, and it helps to take it less seriously and have more fun with it. But as far as I'm concerned, there is no 'Mad Max' title more fun than the next chapter, which wouldn't even come around until another thirty years after this third chapter! And totally worth it! 4/5  I think it's safe to say that, ultimately, when it comes to checking out the 'Mad Max' franchise, 'The Road Warrior' is among the better places to start, as opposed to its predecessor. 'Road Warrior' actually does a pretty solid job of covering what the world you're about to enter is all about, while subtly recapping the first film. Again, a classic in its own right, I just can't highly recommend it, and a lot of it is because it's not the 'Mad Max' we've gown to love over the years. That Mad Max really, arguably gets his start here.
Just to recap, a global war has caused civilization to collapse due to a deadly combination of oil shortages and ecocide. As a result, the world has been plunged into a state of anarchy and ongoing war for survival. Former "cop", Max Rockantansky (Mel Gibson) has since lost his family, and now travels the desert of Australia with his awesome Austrailian cattle dog, simply credited as "Dog" in search of the essentials - namely fuel, food and... not water? Actually as a side note, watching these movies during a local heatwave is a touch difficult. But I digress. As Max is doing his thing, he heads for an abandoned "gyrocopter" to collect its fuel. He's ambushed by the pilot (Bruce Spence), but easily overpowers him, sparing his life for directions to an operational oil refinery that the pilot has discovered. Said refinery wages an ongoing war for rights to the oil with a motorized gang of thugs, lead by "The Humungus" (Kjell Nilsson). Humungus offers to spare their lives if they "just walk away" and leave the oil for the gang, prompting debate among the group residing in the refinery. Just to fast-track things here, Max eventually finds himself striking a deal with the residents of the refinery: He will find and bring back a semi-truck he saw on the road earlier, which would allow the people to escape their facility with the fuel they still have left, thus avoiding the conflict with the gang. All they have to do is repair and return his car, and supply him with as much fuel as he can carry. The deal is made, and a lot of the movie, again, is the gearing up for the big action sequence, which is a nice, long vehicle chase involving a lot more of those beautifully done practical effects. For 1981, the film looks great, even in comparison to some of the modern CG stuff we see in 'Fast & Furious' movies. Why? Because it's real, and director Frank Miller never pulled any punches with that stuff. That's why to this day, it's still one of the best chase scenes of all time. Joining the cast here, whom I have not mentioned, are a few key players. But I mainly wanna talk about, the Feral Kid (Emil Minty), who ends up being moderately significant by the end. But until then, the kid plays the role incredibly well. Miming something like a chimp most of the time, he's a lovable character, and seeing him throw a boomerang in speedy reverse-cam action is pretty hilarious. There's also Virginia Hey as "Warrior Woman", and Michael Preston as Pappagallo (the leader of the facility), but they just don't stand out as much for me, even as key players. This chapter, even though it's a bit slow to really pick up, still manages to hit the ground running. It does a solid job with its recap of what has been going on in the world, making the trudge-through of the previous film unnecessary, and again, this is where the Mad Max we all know and love was really brought to the spotlight. It's the film 'Fury Road' looked at and said "do that, but better" (and holy crap, did they ever). I'd say for this one, remember that is was 1981, but it's still a lot of fun, there are more likeable characters throughout, and that old school action really puts the cherry on top of the sundae. 4/5  In the grand scheme of films and their sequels, 'Mad Max' is one of the only examples I can think of in which everything following the first film is much better than the original. Although 'Mad Max' has its own following, its 'Road Warrior,' and 'Thunderdome' that people seem to remember more fondly than this precursor, which was probably better for its time. Watching this movie today, at least for me, proves kind of difficult. It might just be a "me" thing, as this film is still highly rated. But for the life of me, I'm not entirely sure why it is.
Set in what was supposed to be the near future at the time (So, I guess, mid-80s), the film plays with the concept of widespread oil shortages forcing Australia into civil unrest, and creating a dystopia. Although none of this is really explained throughout the film, 'Road Warrior' covers it, and it makes the film a touch more simple to explain. Again, maybe it's just a "me" thing, but all in all, I found this chapter to be pretty confusing and all over the place throughout its execution. But then again, I also got bored a lot, so we can probably blame my attention span on this moderately rough review. In the wake of it all, a poorly funded police unit called the "Main Force Patrol" (or "The Bronze" by their enemies) try to keep the remaining civilians who are just trying to live their lives safe from violent motorcycle gangs. Top among them is Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), who essentially introduces himself by chasing down a gang member who goes by the name "Nightrider" (Vincent Gil); a cop killer. Max succeeds in dispatching Nightrider, but it comes with the cost of Nightrider's fellow gang members seeking revenge. Said gang, lead by "Toecutter" (Hugh Keays-Byrne), begins their revenge plot by seeking out and attempting to kill more MFP officers, while constantly stealing fuel, terrorizing the last of the innocent townsfolk, vandalizing property where they can, and doing a whole lot of psychopathic hootin' & hollerin'. That sounds like a criticism, but that's about all I can give the movie credit for - the series stuck to its guns and evolved from these concepts, and I must admit that for as much as I don't really like the original, what we have today may be nowhere without it setting a few standards. Anyway, it takes a very long time to get to it - like, practically the last half-hour of the movie, but it does get pretty cool for that last little bit. Eventually, the gang messes with the wrong people, namely Max's wife, Jessie (Joanne Samuel), and things spiral into a pretty sweet action-fueld chase between Max's Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe "Interceptor" and a bunch of motorcycles. Only problem is, that's about the only cool part of the movie, it's short-lived, and the film ends very abruptly. I think what this all boils down to is the timing of the film's release, itself, and me looking back on it with a present-day perspective on what action has become. With that said, I'm very hard-pressed not to give the film full credit for one particular detail - the action sequences, stunts and effects were essentially all real, save for some bloody and gory makeup. I will always route for practical effects over CG, and again, its presence here has followed through to every film since (until 'Furiosa,' but more on that with that review). This is definitely one of those middle-ground films for me. I can't help but give it credit for what it created, and how it was executed as far as things like effects go. However, the critic in me still sees what is mostly a fairly bland movie in comparison to its sequels. I truly believe that if one feels the need to do a backtrack like I'm doing here, one can probably just start with 'Road Warrior' and be fine. I personally find this chapter to be a little confusing and all over the place, but that's just me. It's a classic in its own right, and I can't take that away from it. It's just that I find everything after it so much more enjoyable. 3/5  In viewing these 'Apes' prequel films again, I can say honestly that my opinion on them has not changed. I may not have explored the original series much (with the exception of the '68 film), but as far as 'Rise,' 'Dawn,' and 'War' go, they formed one of the most solid trilogies I've ever seen, and I can still say that - except now we have a fourth film. Is it still as solid a series after that fourth film? Well, I'll get to that in that review. For now, we'll stick with what wrapped up the trilogy portion with 'War.'
The film opens with a brief timeline that covers what has gone on since 'Rise,' including the spread of the man-made simian flu, which has now killed most of the human race, aside from those with natural immunity. In the meantime, its effect on the ape family has been a gift, offering heightened intelligence, leading to a whole ape society that looks more human as opposed to something Jane Goodall would be observing for her studies. They're all lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis), who has been liberating ape-kind from the humans from day one. In the previous film, however, an ape-gone-vengeful named Koba (Toby Kebbell) ended up starting a war between humans and apes, which leads the "Alpha-Omega" human militia to try to locate Caesar, and perhaps "cut the head off the snake." The apes capture their attackers, but Caesar lets them go, with an offer of peace, essentially drawing a line in the sand. Leave the apes the woods, and they can have the rest. Soon, however, the militia comes back, led by "The Colonel" (Woody Harrelson) and causing tragedy among the ape colony. As it turns out, Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes (Max Lloyd-Jones) and friend, Rocket (Terry Notary) found a peaceful oasis while on a scouting mission, and the apes decide it best to move there in order to hide better from the humans. After the human attack, however, Caesar ends up choosing vengeance, drawing some parallels between him and Koba. He kinda just wants to find the Colonel and, again, "cut the head off the snake." He sends his fellow apes to find said oasis, and he heads the other way in search of the Colonel. He's joined on his journey by Rocket, old friend, Maurice (Karin Konoval) and Luca (Michael Adamthwaite), who are not only there to help but to keep Caesar in check, as they don't need another Koba on their hands. What starts out as what could be a cool revenge flick, however, turns into an emotional ride that will gauge every emotion, giving us so much more than what we came to see, initially. It's a film about survival on both the ape and human side, and it's amplified with a pretty great villain speech given by the Colonel that allows the viewer to understand his perspective, which is the best kind of villain. Added to the cast here to help alleviate so much of the tragedy that takes place throughout the film (and there's quite a bit - it's honestly a pretty tear-jerking film) are a couple of characters who carry more positivity with their appearances. Giving us a dose of innocence and hope is a little girl Caesar and the others find, eventually named "Nova" (Amiah Miller), another nod to the '68 film. Giving us some really solid comedy relief is an ape who calls himself simply "Bad Ape" (Steve Zahn). To some, I have to admit, he might feel a little out of place. But speaking personally, I love the little guy. Apart from a solid range of emotions that probably outdoes the previous two, the film manages to stick to the idea of perhaps wondering what side of the fight you might land on. Imagine something you created for good eventually destroying humankind and giving apes a tremendous advantage over us. All of these films have been great for allowing us to route for the apes and nature taking its course so they can live freely, but they do a good job of reminding us that we're the humans, and again, it makes us wonder how we might exist in such a world. 5/5  There's quite a bit to talk about here, so I'm just gonna dive right in. 'Dawn' begins ten years (give or take) after the final events of 'Rise,' in which the lab-created virus known as ALZ-112 has, for lack of a better term, gotten loose. The virus, originally created to battle Alzheimer's, proves to have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the lab chimps and apes experimented on, starting with Caesar (Andy Serkis), who eventually frees his kind from captivity and escape to the nearby San Fransisco redwood forest.
Human exposure to the virus is something different altogether, in that it becomes a simian flu outbreak, leaving the only human survivors those with a natural immunity to it. This is basically covered in an opening credits news cast, much like your average zombie movie, and in time, we see what has become of Caesar and his friends we met previously - a circus orangutan named Maurice (Karin Konoval) and fellow chimp, Koba (Toby Kebbell), both of whom have sworn a loyalty to Caesar for their freedom, ever thankful for the community they've created for themselves. Through those ten years, the human race has been dying off, leaving the world in a 'Last of Us'-like state of overgrowth, and apes have thrived. Caesar even has his own close-knit household with his partner, Cornelia (Judy Greer), son, Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) and newborn baby, Cornelius, who some will recall as a full-grown ape in the 1968 original, tying this thing together loosely, but nicely. The future for this society looks promising enough, but the question remains, are humans still out there somewhere? And if so, do they pose a threat? The first portion of this is answered when a group of human survivors, led by a guy named Malcolm (Jason Clarke), along with his wife, Ellie (Keri Russell), and son, Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) stumble into ape territory in search of a dam, which could restore power to their community. However, one of the ass holes of the group, Carver (Kirk Acevedo), shoots and injures Blue Eyes' friend, Ash (Larramie Doc Shaw). Caesar decides the best move is to draw a line in the sand, not wanting violence, but warning that they'll fight if they have to. Once all that is established, what we really get from this film, in my opinion, is two extremes of both sides of the coin. Malcolm and his family wish to make peace, and Caesar, remembering good natured humans like his Will takes a chance on him, wanting the same peace. On the other side of the coin, however, is Koba, who only remembers the bad things human scientists did to him, and the leader of the human society, Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman), who lost his family to the virus and will stop at nothing to keep his community surviving. I really liked the way the film executed such a range of emotions through these characters, reminding me of a handful of D&D creations ranging from "lawful good" to "chaotic evil," and placing characters like Blue Eyes in the middle of it all, knowing the way his Dad thinks in terms of peace, but understanding where Koba's need for vengeance comes into play, especially with his friend having been shot by one of those damned dirty humans - Carver; definitely a character you love to hate, and it doesn't stop at that gunshot. While 'Rise' is how everything began, concluding with the virus getting out of hand, 'Dawn' is more about being in the ape's world now, and the beginnings of their society. I also take what I mentioned about two extremes on either side of the coin to heart here. One of the big themes here seems to be the classic trope of "we're not so different, you and I," but it does a very good job of not just simply dividing good and evil, and it's always nice to be able to understand where everyone here is coming from... except maybe Carver... what a jerk. 5/5  My relationship with the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise before this movie came along was essentially non-existent. I knew enough about the first movie to be able to quote its most famous lines, and spoil the twist ending for the three people on Earth who didn't know it. But for whatever reason, to this day, I still have not seen any of the older films, save for the original (and that was just to say I've seen it). So when things got a prequel treatment back in 2011, I thought that might be a good jumping-on point.
I'm not sure how much more I expected things to carry on with the franchise at the time, as this can easily just be passed off as a simple "this is how it all started" film, and one can pretty much understand how things might unfold from its ending. The thing is, the film's emotional story combines with the CG technology of the time made it good enough to spawn a few sequels and actually for an incredibly solid series of prequels that lead into the original 1968 classic and its series of sequels. Speaking of which, before we get into it, this entire movie takes place on Earth and we see how the Planet of the Apes was formed over time through the next few films. So basically, the big reveal at the end of the '68 film is officially not in spoiler territory anymore. It's basically something everyone knows at this point, but it doesn't take away from Charlton Heston's wonderful overacting in that scene that has made cinematic history as one of the most famous of all time. Still a classic! The entire franchise begins with a young pharmaceutical chemist named Will Rodman (James Franco) who tests a viral-based drug known as ALZ-112 on chimps in hopes of discovering a potential cure for Alzheimer's. The terrible disease is something Will has to deal with on a daily basis with his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is getting worse by the day. One day during tests, a chimp named "Bright Eyes" goes on a rampage, and as a result has to be put down. However, she wasn't being vicious so much as protective of her child no one noticed, who Will takes home to take care of, naming him Caesar (Andy Serkis). As time passes, Caesar shows how much of ALZ-112 he seemed to absorb through his mother with signs of increased intelligence, not the least of which is learning sign language. As Will wonders if this could be the solution to his father's disease (and kudos to the writers for not making him a nut about becoming rich off of it), Caesar begins questioning his existence and whether he's a friend, a pet, or just an experiment. Soon enough, of course, Caesar shows just how smart he really is, and we get to see the beginnings of everything in the franchise. Looking back on this now, the CG still looks pretty good, bearing in mind that the MCU released 'Captain America: The First Avenger' the same year, and the CG on young Cap looks awful by today's standards. I'm still an MCU guy, but there is definitely something to be said for this movie's tech being ahead of it, at least at the time. It's this wonderful blend of giving the actors a massive ape makeover, but leaving those eyes free to show the human-like character these apes have, especially with Caesar. I had to appreciate upon this viewing how the climax of film makes you route for the apes' victory, while at the same time fully realizing that any human these apes are fighting through are kinda just doing their job. You don't think of them as villains so much as civil servants. So one might say the film does a good job of humanizing all of its characters, whether they be ape or human. It's still a great film, and even though its perhaps the least action-packed, the heart and emotion put into these characters is what really makes it special. This one's a bit more on the dramatic side, and for its purposes, that's a good thing. 5/5  The "MonsterVerse" that began back in 2014 was all leading to this epic moment, despite the fact that Godzilla went up against three big monsters in the last film, making it feel like the franchise kinda went all-in on things. However, these filmmakers know their audiences fairly well, and since day one, the big titan battle to end all titan battles has always been Godzilla going up against King Kong. Its this universe's 'Freddy vs Jason' or 'Alien vs Predator', pitting the two most popular of something against each other.
To everyone's misfortune, however, Covid came along and messed everything up for this epic battle, pushing it from November, 2020 to March, 2021; a time in which going to the theatre to see a movie was still a pretty big gamble for one's health. Simultaneously, it was released on HBO Max, and in a roundabout way, I managed to see it on my small screen, thus missing out on the grand scale battle this could have been. With that said, however, this was just about the perfect movie to sit down and just enjoy for the fun of it during such trying times. It was a solid slice of purely imaginative fun, and a good time not to care about realism. The film also takes place five years after the last film, which technically actually puts this in 2024, which is just as well, as this allows the franchise to ignore Covid entirely. As time has passed since we last left Skull Island, Kong has since been captured and held by Monarch for study at a facility that allows him to roam around relatively freely. Here, Kong has befriended a young deaf girl named Jia (Kaylee Hottle), who is able to communicate with Kong using sign language. Along with her, is her adopted mother and Kong expert, Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), and together, they take good care of Kong while he's being held. Meanwhile, Godzilla is now seen by people as an ally, albeit a destructive one who has unknowingly killed thousands. This comes after the events of the previous film where he fended off the hydra-like King Ghidorah and the pterydactle-like Rodan with he help of Mothra, whose likeness should be self-explanatory. However, he attacks an Apex Cybernetics facility in Pensacola, FL, leaving people wondering what has gotten into him, since he only really reveals himself to attack other giant threats. The leads our former player, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) to find answers, knowing that's out of Godzilla's character. Madison seeks the help of her friend, Josh (Julian Dennison) along with podcasting conspiracy theorist, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry). Their investigation eventually leads them to Godzilla's reason for attacking, and without spoiling too much (because the big reveal is actually pretty awesome), it goes back to the stinger at the end of the last film, where we see a Ghidorah head still intact. This situation also connects to Apex CEO, Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) hiring Hollow Earth "expert", Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), believing Hollow Earth contains a certain energy he desires for a weapon that will effectively be able to stop Godzilla, should he choose to rampage again. Lind soon recruits Ilene, Jia and big ol' Kong to locate and explore Hollow Earth, but unknown to the recruits are Lind's plans to find this power source. Along the way, of course, Kong and Godzilla become aware of each other, and the film delivers on its promise of a Clash of Titans. I've gotta hand it to the filmmakers for providing us with what seems like two very separate story lines that manage to connect in such a way that, when all said and done, fans of the classic material might be pleasantly surprised by. I'd also suggest keeping an open mind about the Hollow Earth theory here, just because it works so well for this particular universe. It's fun to see how these monsters' stories come together in the end, and they come across much like a 'Fast & Furious' movie in that reality isn't a part of the game here. I've said it before, but the best parts about these movies are seeing these monsters take part in a WWE-style storyline while paying homage to oldschool video games like 'Rampage' where the name of the game was destruction. For those of us who waited things out patiently for this movie, I felt it delivered on all levels, and its probably one of the best of the bunch. My one regret was not being able to see it on a bigger scale at the time. 4/5  Now that both Godzilla and Kong have been established as two decent introductions to the MonsterVerse, the time has come to expand on it. I find this one to be a fairly interesting chapter of the whole thing, as whether one likes or dislikes it is all pretty much predicated on the same thing; that being what could be considered too many monsters contained in one movie. Here, we get our main players, Godzilla and "Monster Zero" (later named Ghidora), but it also brings in Mothra and Rodan.
Without getting too much into spoiler territory, the extra two monsters serve a purpose, but some may feel like they went too familiar too soon. Basically, when it comes to these classic movie monsters, along with King Kong, these are the four you've probably heard of. In some ways, it can feel like overexposure. However, I will say that if you can watch this as if it was a monster-sized WWE tag team match, the last chunk of this movie is a pretty damn awesome bit of action-packed eye candy. Just to give an idea of a timeline here, just remember that 'Kong: Skull Island' takes place in 1973, and thus represents the first chronological story of the series. 'Godzilla' starts us off in 2014 (present-day at the time), and this picks things back up five years after the big showdown between Godzilla and the unnamed MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), so things have progressed in real-time since the first film, and here we are in 2019 where seventeen MUTOs have since been identified and studied by monster-studying organization, Monarch who now refer to them as "Titans". Mothra is almost immediately introduced, being studied by a team that includes paleobiologist, Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Mothra, in her larva state, is all pissed off and needs calming down, and with that, we are introduced to a device Emma has been working on called ORCA; a device that uses certain frequencies in order to call or communicate with the Titans. Soon, a group of eco-terrorists attack the facility, led by Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), a former British Army colonel. His team kidnaps the mother/daughter pair, cause Mothra to flee, and steal the ORCA device for themselves. Meanwhile, some of our Monarch stars from the first film return, namely Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) along with newcomer, Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch). They learn about the disappearance of Emma and Madison, and approach Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), to help find them. Eventually, it all comes together in Antarctica, where the eco-terrorists plan is to unleash the frozen "Monster Zero", and other Titans (that go as far as Rodan) to restore natural order to the Earth after mankind has destroyed it. I do appreciate how there seems to be three different arguments for the whole Titan situation. The eco-terrorists think they're doing the world a favour by letting monsters take over humanity; various members of Monarch think that mankind has to find a way to adapt and coexist with the Titans to survive; and the majority seem simply say "kill 'em all." To some degree, things can feel a bit "tree-huggy", and the environmental message is pretty heavy-handed. I also find Madison to be largely one of those "in-the-way" characters and often irksome in her actions. Although, its her mother's speech about the environment that might make one roll their eyes. So, what about Rodan? He shows up, but he's also kinda crowbarred in there and largely more for appearance than plot. Let's just say on a chess board, he'd act as a pawn. Having said that, however, like I've said before, whether you like this or not is all gonna come from what you're looking for. If you want a really good story with really likable characters and solid dialogue, you won't necessarily find that here. But if you wanna watch some really awesome moster fights with a bag of popcorn at your side, it's fine! It reminds me a bit of the first one with its pacing, but the familiarity with the monsters here, I daresay, make it a bit more fun if just a bit overcrowded to some nitpicking degree. 3/5  Shortly after the successful release of 'Godzilla' in 2014, it was announced that Kong was gonna be brought into the picture, and the "MonsterVerse" was going to be put into motion. Once again, they did it right by introducing Godzilla in one movie, Kong in the next, and developing things from there. Growing up, I was always a little more partial to Kong as a bit more of a sympathetic monster, so when I heard this was happening, I was pretty excited for it, and thankfully, it was far from disappointing.
For this one, we go back to 1973 where new technology has been developed to capture imagery of areas of the world that have yet been unexplored. This unveils the mysterious-looking Skull Island, which until had only been a myth up to that point. This leads the head of Monarch (the organization mentioned in the 'Godzilla' review who study giant creatures), Bill Randa (John Goodman) to gather a team of professionals to head to the island with him in an attempt to study whatever primeval creatures may be on the island; an island said to be lost in time, and altogether prehistoric in nature. For an experienced escort to get through dangerous conditions in order to get to Skull Island for this mission, Randa's recruits Vietnam soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), his subordinates, Major Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell) and Captain Earl Cole (Shea Whigham), and his other "Sky Devils", Reg Slivko (Thomas Mann), Glenn Mills (Jason Mitchell) and Joe Reles (Eugene Cordero). In several ways, these guys provide the big bad "mankind" enemy of the film, but I'd probably also argue that, aside from Kong, himself, they are the more entertaining aspect of the film. Further experts recruited to the team include former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), who's also an expert at tracking, and photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) who's main reason for being here is to represent the "beauty" that Kong is able to see as mankind's innocence, and be almost annoying with how many pictures she takes throughout the film. Perhaps a bit harsh, but there are scenes where she's in real danger and totally camera-ready. I don't mind Brie Larson, but this has to be one of her more mediocre roles when all said and done. Upon their arrival, Packard's men drop seismic charges to map out the island, which eventually flushes out Kong, and results in a devastating (but cool to look at) attack on the team, ultimately separating them all from each other. From there, the motives vary as Packard wants to set his men up for revenge as well as a mission to get their men back, while Conrad and Weaver along with a few others stumble on the locals, and surprise World War II survivor, Hank Marlow (John C. Reilley) who has been trapped there for a couple of decades. Their main forcus is more about just surviving and getting off the island. Really, the only big tie-in with 'Godzilla' ('14) here is the idea of Monarch, which also plays into a pretty cool post-credit scene in which we see a bit more of an 'Avengers'-like tease for what's to come (seemingly appropriate, considering how many 'Avengers' characters are in this). Otherwise, as a stand-alone, it makes for a pretty great survival adventure, reminscent of something like 'Jurassic Park', but with bigger, badder monsters and some pretty awesome fight scenes involving said monsters, paving the way for an eventual 'Godzilla vs. Kong', and every single one of us knew it. Despite a little bit of rough acting, and cheesy dialogue throughout the film, I'm hard-pressed not to like it. There's a lot of CG in here that one may or may not take with a grain of salt, but I'd suggest that in order to appreciate the film, one has to lean into the action/adventure involved in the story to get the right effect. At the end of the day, Kong, like Godzilla, is here for some decent quality, albeit cheesy, box office adventure, and both movies pretty much live up to that. I'm just glad that there's much more Kong here, along with several other creative creatures as opposed to Godzilla's lack of appearance in his own movie. 4/5  It is often said that things need to stop taking their cues from the MCU in an effort to start self-contained movie universes. More often than not, it's not meant to be (I'm looking at you, Dark Universe) or slips by with some ups and downs because it has a big enough fan base to support it (DCEU). But there is the rare exception, and while the "Monster Universe" 'Godzilla' establishes isn't entirely perfect, it is nevertheless entertaining, a far cry from the 1998 Americanization attempt, and starts things like it should.
The idea of forming a cinematic universe in the first place often fails for the same dumb reason of leading us to believe that things are more or less planned out, which they often aren't. Therefore, the first film of something leaves us with some impression that things will pick back up, failing to gauge audiences and critics as well as performance at the box office. The best thing 'Godzilla' here did was simply exist on its own at the time, and have a solid ending. There are no stingers in this to suggest that the Monster Universe was something in the making. At the time, this was just new and improved Americanization of things. The film opens in 1999, in the Philippenes, where a uranium mine has collapsed, revealing the skeleton of some giant creature. Two Monarch scientists, Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) are sent to investigate the skeleton, and stumble on two giant spores, one of which has hatched, and left a trail heading out to sea. Soon after, at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, seismic activity occurs, eventually destroying the plant, leaving plant supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) with some very difficult questions as to what happened for years to come. Fifteen years pass, and Joe's and his wife Sandra's (Juliette Binoche) son, a U.S. Navy EOD officer named Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) comes home to his wife, Elle (Elizabeth Olsen), and son, Sam (Carson Bolde), only to have to go back to Japan immediately to bail his Dad out of jail for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone. Upon his arrival to bail his Dad out, Ford is convinced to go with Joe to investigate their old house and find some answers, only to be detained all over again and taken to an underground facility, which is holding a massive chrysalis which feeds off nuclear energy. Eventually, said chrysalis hatches, and a giant insect-like creature emerges, very reminsicent, in my opinion, of the Cloverfield monster. The creature is referred to as a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), and to try and keep this short, eventually, Godzilla finally comes into the mix and the big monster fight ensues while mankind wonderds if the enemy of their enemy is their friend, or indeed, another enemy. And in case you haven't picked it up quite yet, perhaps the biggest complaint anyone could have about this movie is how little Godzilla is actually in it. Looking at the grand scheme of things now, it's a little more forgivable that the big focus here was more about what the random MUTO is and how to stop it. Using Godzilla, himself, as their defensive strategy for the first time, it's understandable now that this was meant to be a movie that riskily established things for more potential movies to come, but again, without being crazy obvious about it. As a standalone movie with the title of 'Godzilla', it left a lot to be desired at the time. But as time has gone on (I can't believe 2024 marks ten years already), for better or for worse, the MonsterVerse has been pretty successful. The nice thing to takeaway from the MonsterVerse is that, despite a lot of dramatic things happening throughout, it doesn't take itself too seriously and remembers that audiences are there to see a couple of giant monsters have a wrestling match. The only real problems here being that the match takes a long time to get to, and in the meantime, there's just a lot to do with the people involved in researching the other monster we didn't come to see while explaining what Monarch is etc. It's pretty great once things get going for the fans of this stuff, but it does take a while to get there. 3/5  To put my cards on the table, even for as much as a 'Ghostbusters' fan as I am, even I can admit that this movie is pretty damn ridiculous and, often, kinda dumb. But so help me, that's exactly what makes it so entertaining for me. One should also bear in mind that I was still a kid when this came out, so there will always be that nostalgic influence for me as well. This isn't what I'd say is a movie that's "so bad, it's good" as much as I'd say I'd simply mark it as a guilty pleasure. It's something recognizably "bad" that I still hold near and dear to me.
As far as the big screen goes, this was the original Ghostbusters' last hoorah, while all four lead actors were still in their prime. However, I feel obligated to point out that the video game, initially released in 2009, was pointed out by Dan Aykroyd, himself, that it was meant to serve as the proper 'Ghostbusters 3' for those who were still waiting for that title to be an actual film. If you're a fan and get the chance for a play-through, I can highly recommend it. Controls take a bit to get used to, but everything about the story feels "right" for the franchise's legacy. But that's the third storyline, and we're here to talk about the second one, which I've always considered to be a generous blending of both the spirits of the previous live-action film and the animated series, which I was frankly addicted to at the time of this film's release. So, as a kid, anything that I find completely ridiculous now is just an added bit of comedy to the whole thing and makes it, in a word, "fun". I mean, for crying out loud, they make the Statue of Liberty walk around Manhattan in this movie. I'm not sure it was ever meant to be taken too seriously. 'Ghostbusters II' takes place five years after the events of the previous film (essentially in real time) wherein what we don't see in the aftermath is that their collective heroism that fateful night when they fought Gozer got them all sued and barred from their destructive work for good. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) opens an occult book shop, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) runs experiments on human emotions, Peter Veknman (Bill Murray) hosts a television show called 'World of the Psychic', and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), other than being a bad children's entertainer alongside Ray, is pretty much left to the imagination. Meanwhile, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) works at an art museum for her funny little boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol) who probably has most of the funniest, memorable and quotable lines in the film. Dana also has an infant son named Oscar (William T. Deutschendorf/Henry J. Deutschendorf II) and works alongside a very creepy painting, portraying a 16th Century tyrant named Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg). This is where we get the idea of haunted/possessed objects, as that painting is possessed with the soul of the same tyrant it portrays which, in turn, also possesses Janosz so that Vigo can use him as a sort of puppet. Vigo chooses this time (around New Years, heading into 1990) to be resurrected in a human form and spread his reign of terror, but needs a human child in order to live again. Of course, that child ends up being Oscar, and it'll be up to the Ghostbusters to stop him. In the meantime, the boys contend with a thick, pink slime that seems to be tied in with Vigo and the negative energy of the whole city, thus dubbed "mood slime", and eventually becomes the "frienemy" the Ghostbusters need to fight this Carpathian dude. There are a few welcome returns to the cast as well, like Annie Potts coming back as a much more cartoonified Janine Melnitz, Rick Moranis coming back as the lovable loser, Louis Tully, and of course, our favourite little spud, Slimer (if only briefly. Honestly after the first film, Slimer acts as more of an Easter Egg in these movies). The film isn't a strong one, but there's plenty to enjoy here as an oldschool fan, and acts as a friendly reminder that sometimes we just wanna be entertained by the silly and strange, which Ghostbusters has pretty much always been, especially when the Cartoon was such a hit at this time. 3/5  I know, I know, this is old news, but 'Ghostbusters' ('84) is my favourite film of all time, and there's a whole story to it all that all my readers have read time and time again. For that, head over here to my "Five Star" review on it. What we have here is just a shorter review that kinda gets straight to the point, and instead of going into why it's my favourite film, it'll go into why it's just an all-around good film, and, I'd even say, remains forever the best title in the 'Ghostbusters' collection. A fine example of "nothing tops the original."
'Ghostbusters' is the brainchild of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, veering off a bit from Aykroyd's original vision of he and, at the time, John Belushi, would travel through time and space to battle a series of supernatural threats. Sadly, however, Belushi passed in 1982, and the budget for the film wasn't exactly on par with Aykroyd's vision. That's when, Ramis was brought in to help make things a little more practical, and change it up to a crew of exterminators, rounding up nasty spectral entities, residing in New York City. I have to admit though, I'm super curious to see what Aykroyd's original vision would have looked like. The end result, however, involves three paranormal research scientists; Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Ramis) and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), who, one day, get the boot from a college that refuses to fund their unusual experiments any further. Venkman sees this as a sign that the trio should go into business for themselves based on the paranormal experimentation they've been working on. The business; think of it as a sort of "pest-control", but instead of rounding up cockroaches and rats, they use high-tech gadgets to capture ghosts, spirits, spectres, entities, y'know, something strange in the neighbourhood. With their secretary, Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), it's not long before their business takes off, and the three becomes a trio of hometown heroes. However, one case in particular involving the lovely Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) involves some deeper, darker stuff than just capture/trap missions involving an anciet Sumerian God named Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), and her minions, the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster who, if not stopped, could very well bring about the end of the world. With all of the paranormal activity building up, they bring in a fourth Ghostbuster named Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) for help. I'd be hard-pressed not to mention the presense of two more great characters from this. First there's Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), Dana's neighbour who provides us with some of the funniest awkward, nerdy comedy relief that balances the comedy in the film with Venkman's cool, calm and sarcastic sense of humour really well. Then there's Walter Peck (William Atherton) who works for the EPA, is a secondary villain in this, and interestingly enough, we hate him so easily for just doing his job to the best of his abilities. Both are pretty great side characters who each add to the story in their own unique way. More to mention of the overall quality of the movie, it's pretty amazing to still be able to watch this movie today and appreciate how incredibly good the practical effects in it look. Remembering that this came out in 1984, it's another fine example of the fact that sometimes CG is just unnecessary. I still think the ghosts look better here than they do as fully CG-rendered entities in the 2016 film. There may be a bit of a cheapness to it for viewers nowadays, but I still think it works incredibly well, especially with characters like our beloved "Slimer" (who was actually inspired by Belushi with his final design). 'Ghostbusters' is one of the most unlikely films to withstand the test of time in a big way. When you really think about it, on paper, the whole thing sounds so insane that it just plain shouldn't work. Especially when you bring in things like a 100-foot Marshmallow Man that by all means should have been seen as jumping the shark. Somehow or another, it all just fits together incredibly well, combining aspects of horror and comedy while being strong with imagination. It was never meant to be taken too seriously, and I think that's why fans like myself just don't have as many critical issues with the rest of the series. The Ghostbusters will always have a place in my heart! 5/5  Once again, as this series continues, it keeps up with developing Po's (Jack Black) character by delving even deeper into his origins while still pushing the story forward. In other words, the more time we spend learning of Po's past, the more we can appreciate how the film is trying to develop him as a means to defeat villains who, in each film, progressively get more powerful. This time around, things stem from the tail ending of the previous film in which we briefly meet Po's father (Fred Tatasciore at the time) who learns that Po's still alive.
To expand on that, when we last left Po, he defeated a ruthless peacock named Shen (Gary Oldman) who, when Po was a baby, destroyed Po's village, hunting for the panda who would one day put a stop to his attempt to take over China, as prophesied. While Po's mother rescues him, she is killed in the process, and he and his father have been separated since. Po was soon adopted by a goose named Mr. Ping (James Hong), and the rest is pretty much history. Po becomes the fabled "Dragon Warrior," and lives a life of heroism alongside "The Furious Five"; Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), and his sensei, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). While Po continues this life, something sinister is brewing in the Spirit Realm, as we reunite with Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim); the Kung Fu tortoise who trained Master Shifu, and who found inner peace and passed away in the first film. He is attacked by a spirit warrior yak named Kai (J.K. Simmons) who has stolen collected all of the other Kung Fu masters' "Chi" (essentially a Kung Fu warrior's essense) and, with Oogway's, will be able to return to the mortal realm. Of course, Kai succeeds in this, using vast amounts of Chi from other warriors to defeat Oogway. But Oogway is sure to warn him that he's destined to be defeated. Upon his return, Kai realizes (in pretty humorous fashion) that he's been forgotten after such a long time, gets enraged by this, and aims to tear down Oogway's legacy. In the meantime, Shifu announces his retirement to Po and the Five, and chooses Po to be his successor based on his "Dragon Warrior" title, to which Po is understandably apprehensive, but this is kinda where the plot point of finding one's self comes into play, as Po's trying to teach like Shifu instead of using his own methods. To add to it all, he is randomly visited by his father, Li Shan (now played by Bryan Cranston). They bond immediately, but this ultimately makes Mr. Ping jealous. The village comes under attack by mysterious jade warriors who each resemble fallen Kung Fu masters, and are controlled with Kai's massive amounts of Chi that he stole from each of them. The Five manage to stave them off for the time being, but learnt he only way they'll get one over on Kai is by training in the ways of Chi, which, according to legend, the pandas have mastered. So, Li takes Po on a journey back to his home village to learn the ways of the panda, which should ultimately lead to learning about Chi, and how to use it to put a stop to this new villain. Each of these have some kind of life lesson within, and a lot of it has to do with varying forms of self-discovery. While the first one has a little more to do with finding who one is meant to be, the second covers where one comes from and who one truly is. With this, I find it sort of combines the first two as it seems to be very much about enlightenment, and learning what makes you you. These are just my takeaways, however, and I feel like there's a lot to be taken from these films when it comes to personal growth. As far as this series is concerned, this is another solid title for it. I still like the second film's villain a bit more overall, and would consider him a bit more of an arch nemesis for Po. Further to that, I think at times this does get a little cutesy, but that's just a nitpick, and not even a heavy one. All in all, this has been a great series for family viewing, helping the young viewers to grow in a positive way while even us adults can learn a thing or two about things like "inner peace". It doesn't have quite the same impact the second one does for me, but it's still super solid. 4/5 |
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