Well folks, it has finally happened! Theaters are open again up here in Ontario, Canada, and I decided to make my return to the big screen with some mindless action. Despite the fact that this movie is the ninth chapter in an overall ridiculous franchise, this is going to get a little deeper than it probably should, on a personal level. But first, one must understand what going to the movies means to me. I'm typically there about once a week, but due to Covid, theaters have been closed, and I have been grounded. Before this, the last time I got to go was for 'New Mutants', almost a year ago. Returning to the big screen with a movie like 'F9' was a friendly reminder of what the big screen experience was all about for yours truly. This kind of "throw-you-brain-away" action ride is exactly the type of thing the big screen was meant for. This series could be considered something of a present-day 'Die Hard' saga, complete with heavy, fast action, likable heroes and a whole lot of physics bending. I learned to throw reality out the window with these a long time ago, and this has to be, quite possibly, their best example of needing to do that yet. With these scenes, there was a lot of me laughing because for as stupid as they are, you can't help but think of them as part of the ride you're taking. This chapter, however, does have an interesting balance to it as it opens in the past, portraying a younger Dominic Toretto (Vinnie Bennett) back in '89, where he and his brother, Jakob (Finn Cole) assist in the pit crew of their father, Jack's (JD Pardo) race. This is reflective to a story Dom tells in the first chapter, where he nearly beats a man to death for evidently crashing his dad's car, killing him. Fast-forward to the present, and Dom (Vin Diesel) has since retired from action, living with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and raising their son, little Brian (Isaac/Immanuel Holtane). Being typical of this kind of movie though, things cut right to the chase to pull Dom out of retirement. Roman, Tej and Ramsey (Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Nathalie Emmanuel, respectively) pull up to Dom and Letty's peaceful existence to deliver the news that Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) has captured Cipher (Charlize Theron), but his plane was attacked by rogue agents only to crash-land in the fictional Montequinto. The deciding factor that puts Dom back in action is the realization that his brother, Jakob (John Cena) is involved. Without unfolding the whole story, however, things take off from there and we have the standard 'Fast' movie, starring pretty much literally everyone from the past. And the biting question everyone has is finally answered - yes, they do go to space in this movie. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is either the best or worst of the series, but I might suggest that it's probably the most interesting. It probably happened way before this, but with this chapter I definitely found that the series has totally come to terms with itself. This is less of a solid movie and more of a Saturday morning 'Fast & Furious' cartoon. I think that if you can go into these treating them as such, and never taking them seriously, you can have a really good time with them. This was no exception, and in fact is probably the cartooniest of all so far. They hit up space, the stunts are insane (you can't catch someone flying through the air on the hood of your car and have things be okay), and if you can't throw reality out the window with this, you're just plain doomed. One thing that really stood out to me here, however, is that this was definitely one for the more solid fans of the franchise. They bring in so many characters from the past here that I had forgotten about some of them. So it might very well be worth doing a bit of homework on the series before going, whether that means going through all of the previous movies or just Googling a lot of the basics, it might be worth going through. Then again, if you're like me and just wanna buckle in and go for a ride without it really meaning much of anything other than fun, I say go for it. It's not what I'd call a good movie, but not a lot of these ever really are. But that does not mean you can't go back to the big screen after all this time and just have some fun with it. 3/5
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As far as Batman stories go, I tend to claim 'The Long Halloween' as my personal favourite (or 'The Killing Joke' - its honestly kind of a coin-flip). I enjoy how grounded it is, focusing on more of a detective story than an action adventure, and it's a good source for letting some of Batman's lesser known foes into the spotlight, if only for a moment. As an example, we have Calendar Man (David Dastmalchian), who is a bit of a 'Hannibal Lecter' type in this. But it provides us with some of our old favourites as well. Much like with 'The Dark Knight Returns', this one is split into two parts. This is one place I find DC kind of triumphs over Marvel with their animation. If they have a good, beloved story to tell, they will see to it that its told right. A two-parter allows for much more wiggle room. It tends to work out pretty well, and they have a good track record of providing us with some solid adaptations. There's a few bumps in the road, sure, but DC has a good way of not messing around with their darker animated stuff, and this is no exception. To be fair, I'm overdue for a re-read of this story, so there are a few places in the movie I'm not sure match up 100%. But as far as I can see, so far so good. Things kick off on Halloween night, when Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's (Titus Welliver) nephew, Johnny Viti, is killed by a suspect who leaves behind a jack-o-lantern as a sort of calling card. GCPD Captain James Gordon (Billy Burke) calls for a meeting with DA, Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel), and Batman (Jensen Ackles), and has them look into the murder, bending, but not breaking any rules in the process. The trio find themselves pursuing a holiday killer they simply nickname "Holiday", who kills one holiday per month. One connection the victims seem to have is that they are all criminals. But who is offing them, why are they offing them, and why are they choosing holidays to do it? As mentioned earlier, some of our old favourites are along for this ride. The big ones for this chapter are Catwoman (Naya Rivera), who's more of a helper this time around, and of course the good old Joker (Troy Baker). There is more to come though, as we'll get to see the likes of Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy coming into the picture, each in their own unique way. It's that part that I'm looking forward to a little bit more, but I definitely had a good time with this. It's a good look into the darker, more grounded side of Batman stories, and is one of the more classic tellings of how Two-Face becomes Two-Face (another thing to look forward to in 'Part 2'). So if you're a Two-Face fan, this is actually a good story. His role here is a very back-and-forth one where its hard to tell just what side he's on. As far as the voice acting, the fact of the matter is that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill remain the best respective voices for Batman and Joker, respectively. Having said that, while Troy Baker still does a great job here as Joker (not for the first time), Ackles does a somewhat surprisingly good job as Batman. When I learned about that casting, I was picturing Batman sounding like Dean from 'Supernatural'. He did the voice of Jason Todd in 'Under the Red Hood', but that seemed to just fit. As Batman, it was a pleasant surprise, and he actually does have a bit of a Conroy edge to his voice here. That aside, between the mystery and intrigue, this is a bit more of a unique Batman story, matching a tone a little more with the 'Arkham' series of games as opposed to the Animated Series. It's definitely solid, but really, it just got me excited to see what they will do with the second half of the story. 4/5 Here we have the latest film from director, Guy Ritchie; the man responsible for a couple of titles I consider classics - 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch' as well as Robert Downey Jr's 'Sherlock Holmes' movies (the first of which was far superior). He's a bit of a hit and miss director in my eyes, a lot of the time I tend to meet his films in the middle, and this is such a good example of one of his most middle-ground movies to me. The film flows a bit like 'Pulp Fiction' in as much as it's divided into four parts, all surrounding one particular event - the armed robbery of an armoured truck, killing two guards and a civilian. Five months later, we meet our mystery man lead, Patrick Hill, or more commonly, "H" (Jason Statham), who applies for a guard job at Fortico Security (the company we see get robbed in the beginning). His superior, Terry (Eddie Marsan) mentions the robbery, and warns him of the conditions of the job while the age-old cliche of H's new co-workers ripping on the new guy plays on. Among them, "Bullet" (Holt McCallany), who's responsible for showing him the new guy the ropes; the cocky guy who decidedly hates the new guy, "Boy Sweat" Dave (Josh Hartnett), and Dana (Niamh Algar) the token woman whose sole purpose is to emasculate all of the men. In the midst of a training pickup, Bullet is taken hostage, but H manages to rescue him showing phenomenal skill that suggests he held back during his training. As the film unfolds, we get to learn about just why H has become a part of the armoured trucks team when he's clearly overqualified. The result is basically a revenge film that offers a twist here, a turn there, and leaves you guessing about things along the way. The overall execution can get a bit confusing at points, however, and while the idea is pretty cool, it's still another revenge film, and I feel like I've seen better - even this year with 'Nobody'. I still enjoyed myself, but this is another case where I feel there's simply better material out there. I think if you're a Statham fan, this is a good time, especially since he's back to playing a strong silent type. Speaking for myself, this felt like a good example of another video game movie that isn't officially a video game movie. A lot of that isn't even about the action of it all so much as the way the characters interact. The whole opening locker room scene made me think of any game where you play the silent rookie, interacting with various people in the main hub before going on your mission. A lot of that is the dialogue, which I have to admit, I found pretty corny. I don't know if my description does it justice, but check it out, and you'll probably grasp what I'm trying to get across. This just happened to be an action flick that didn't entirely succeed on having my on the edge of my seat. This isn't like watching 'John Wick' where you watch the fighting with wide eyes and are somewhat blown away. This one's a touch more real-world about things, but it doesn't really do it with the same dose of comedy Ritchie's other films do. The comedy action is the real draw for me, but this was much more serious. While there's nothing wrong with that, I have to say I expected something else I didn't quite get. Still, it's not bad, and I wouldn't recommend avoiding it or anything either. If you wants some serious shoot-'em-up action with Statham behind the wheel, I say go for it. But I'll stick with Ritchie's other material. 3/5 By this point, this film has been around for a little while. But to be honest, it went right over my head, and things didn't really click for me until some people at work started talking about it. When people started comparing it to 'John Wick', and mentioned Bob Odenkirk as the lead, it was easy for me to be sold. Like watching 'Better Call Saul' if Saul was some kind of ex-military badass. Upon watching it, so far, it's one of my favourite movies of the year. Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) lives the life of an "everyman", with an average office job at a metal fabrication company. He lives in suburbia with his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen) and two kids; teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe) and loving little daughter, Abby (Paisley Cadorath). He does the every-day grind thing, and slowly it really starts getting to him, and he's about to be pushed over the edge. This is essentially achieved when, one night, two burglars break into their house and try to rob them at gunpoint. Hutch actually lets the perps go, and with that, word spreads about his actions despite his feelings that he made the right decision - especially based on what he could have done to them. The following day, Hutch is the subject of ridicule from such close people as his son, his brother-in-law, Charlie (Billy MacLellan), and his neighbour, Jim (Paul Essiembre). Upon coming home from work, Abby mentions that she can't find her kitty cat bracelet. Hutch figures that since it was in the bowl of cash the burglars grabbed, it went with them, and thus is triggered Hutch's "snap event", sending him on a mission to retrieve his daughter's bracelet. Things escalate fairly quickly as we find out Hutch isn't exactly the family man we thought he was, and soon his rampage leads him to unknowingly brutally injuring the brother of a notorious Russian mob boss, Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov). I tend to see this movie is as though 'John Wick' and 'Falling Down' had a baby with all of their best features. I love me a good revenge film, especially if it involves the "straw that broke the camel's back" situation. Here, it's a kitty cat bracelet, in 'John Wick', it's a puppy (though to be fair, that one's also incredibly relatable to most), and in 'Falling Down' it's really just a bad day for the wrong type of person. In other words, not typical "eye for an eye" revenge so much as that thing that pushes us over the edge. Every single one of us has faced some kind of God awful day, and movies like these allow us to live vicariously through these characters, in the legal safety of our own home. This could be compared to blowing off some steam while playing a good 3D shooter. The only other thing I want to bring up are a couple of cast names I missed, who really help make this movie a fun time. Hutch's more immediate family consists of a couple more specially skilled characters; his father, David (Christopher Lloyd), and his half-brother, Harry (RZA). By far, Christopher Lloyd is the most fun part of this movie, and between this and another new one called 'Senior Moment', it's nice to see the 82-year-old actor not only still going, but having a lot of fun doing it. You can tell he had a blast in this, and it adds a healthy does of comedy to everything. Lastly, making an almost unrecognizable cameo here is Michael Ironside as Hutch's father-in-law. He's a bit of a true neutral character here, routing for Hutch but concerned all at once. If you were ever a fan of 'Better Call Saul' (or enjoyed the character in 'Breaking Bad'), and you enjoy a good revenge film much along the lines of 'John Wick', then this is the movie for you right now. I had a hell of a lot of fun with it, and even watched it twice before landing on this review. It's a shame that it couldn't be a theatrical presentation for me, but even if you're stuck at home right now, it's a good one to cozy up to if you just want some senseless blood and gore with a more simplistic plot than 'Mortal Kombat'. It may have gone over my head back in March, but I'm glad that I caught up on it for this belated review. Maybe I'm a bit of a stand-alone here, but I really loved it! 5/5 First, let's just hit rewind for a moment and go back to 2017's original cut. You can see right here for yourself that it was a DC I actually enjoyed at the time. As time passed by, however, I managed to get completely sidetracked by everything Marvel was doing. By the time of 'JL's release, we Marvel fan-boys had reached 'Thor: Ragnarok', and the immense deal that would be 'Black Panther' was on the horizon. Speaking for myself, I expected to be let down as I was with 'Batman v Superman', and for that matter, 'Man of Steel'. However, I had fun with it, but perhaps because I chose to rather than think thoughts like "here we go again". Thus, the whole "#releasethesnydercut" thing that DC fans have been fighting with for years now was not a bandwagon that I ended up jumping on. I was actually somewhat satisfied with the original cut, and would tend to respond in true cinema-snob fashion - "It's just more Zack Snyder. Why is that a good thing all of a sudden?". Truth be told I've always found him kind of hit or miss, but my response would suggest I wasn't giving him a proper chance to hit. I had to finally take into consideration certain things like studio interference and tweaking, and above all else, the fact that I WANT to see more films where studios give its director full reign. So, I decided I wasn't being fair, and gave it a chance. For those unfamiliar with the plot/extended plot, here's a refresher. Centuries ago, a being named Darkseid (Ray Porter), with the combined energy of three "Mother Boxes", attempted to take over the world. In a flashback sequence, we see a massive battle fought between an alliance of Amazons, Atlanteans, Lanterns (at least one) and other humans going up against Darkseid and his Parademon army. Earth wins, and the Mother Boxes are separated and hidden around the world. As the film opens, we see where they end up; one in Themyscira, one in Atlantis and one in Cyborg's closet (don't worry, we find out why). One by one they are triggered by Superman's (Henry Cavill) final screams in death (from the end of 'Batman v Superman'), which send a sort of shockwave across the globe. One of Darkseid's servants, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), finds out about the reactivation of the Mother Boxes, and heads to Earth. He intends to invade and collect the boxes in an effort to regain Darkseid's favor. With the boxes, he will be able to terraform a new Earth in the image of their home world of Apokolips. Learning that there may be danger on the way, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) seeks the help of a handful of superheroes that include Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) to battle what's coming. The problem is, what's coming may very well have only been held at bay because Superman was still alive to protect the planet. All in all, it's the same idea as the first but with so much more depth. The first thing that might come to mind is the length of the film, running at a full 4 hours. What I delighted in, however, was that the film was split into six chapters and an epilogue. One could just as easily slow-burn this movie in sittings or watch it like its a miniseries, using the chapters as cut-off points if you need to break for a meal or something. So its length isn't something I feel I can totally criticize, but I will nitpick about the overuse of slow-mo in this that could easily cut a bit out of it. Superman's dying sequence is about 7 minutes long when it's all done, and that shows us the activation of the boxes and where they are located. Sometimes, however, the slow-mo could be good. I appreciated the use of it when the film showed us things like Flash saving a woman from a near-fatal crash so casually, or perhaps to even establish certain moods for certain moments. But like with most of Snyder's films, there's also a lot of it just unnecessarily there. Thankfully, however, he doesn't use it for everything here. Plenty of action sequences are fast-paced when they need to be, and on the whole, everything looks pretty amazing. Add to that a lot of DC catch-up fan service that can only fit into a 4-hour long movie, like the introduction of a certain Martian. I say that like it's a negative, but I mean it when I say it's a positive. It all seems to be attached to something Snyder wants for the DC universe that may not come to pass... but you never say never with this kind of stuff. By the end of it all, despite a few lingering criticisms, I was actually impressed. I wasn't quite as excited about it as others seem to be, but that's all just in the fact that I've always been a heavier Marvel guy than a DC guy - even before any of these cinematic universes. 'Batman' was about all I was ever into when it came to DC, whereas I grew up with 'Spider-Man' and 'X-Men' more on the comic book side of it. So a DC movie is fun for me to check out, but I'll never be as invested in them as I am with Marvel. Having said that, I can't really deny that once things got going, I did find myself far more interested this time than last time. We have more character background and development this time around, which was missing more than I initially considered the first time around - Cyborg perhaps being the best example. I'm very happy that Snyder got to see his vision for this through, and further dedicate it to his late daughter, Autumn. When you see that sort of dedication float across the screen, you think something like "screw my opinion, this is for her". Her passing was what initially made Snyder step away the first time around and have Joss Whedon finish it. Me, being a Whedon fan as it was, perhaps gave the previous film a little more credit than it deserved, thinking things like "well, Whedon's better anyway". I said I'd eat my words, and eat my words, I did. When you get right down to it, the Snyder cut, while significantly longer, is still far superior. Snyder's direction does the job of taking us into that dark DC world here more than he ever has before, and nothing but the slow-mo style really got under my skin. This is a dark, DC comic book brought to life on screen more than it ever has been. I don't know what's gonna happen for DC or what they have planned for the future (other than upcoming 'Suicide Squad' and 'Batman' movies) but I'd love to see things play through to where they can become the Pepsi to Marvel's Coke - perhaps second-fiddle, but an incredibly worthy second-fiddle. If producers can pay attention to what this film did for its fans, it would be a great first step! Why not just hit rewind a little bit and use this as the jumping off point for more DC movies in this universe. Perhaps a redo of 'Green Lantern'? Time will tell. Until then, if you have Crave/HBO Max and love your DC material, then you really should check it out (multiple sittings if necessary, but it's pretty worth it) 4/5 I have to admit that while things have been fun for the most part, the time-loop movie seems to be becoming a bit of a cliche. While everyone and their mother loves 'Groundhog Day' as a sort of feel-good time-loop movie, others like to take the trend of the same day beginning again after death; most prevalent in my mind being 'The Edge of Tomorrow' and 'Happy Death Day'. This one adds a bit of a video game twist to things, however, and becomes another fairly solid video game movie that isn't actually a video game movie. While it remains a bit cliche in its execution, I can't deny the over-the-top fun factor this film still has. As the film opens, we get an inner monologue from ex Delta Force soldier, Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) who gives us about 17-minutes worth of exposition. He takes us through his repeated day, as several people try to kill him while mentioning that he often slips up and has to do it all over again. Much like several times of practice with any video game, he eventually gets it all down, but I have to appreciate that the film takes slight human error into account - for example, at one point he simply stubs his toe, allowing for just enough distraction for someone to shoot him. While it's a long time before the story really gets going, it's still a fun sequence, and I can't deny a few laughs. In this time, the film lets you know what it is, and the idea of not taking it seriously is almost instantaneous. On his 48th attempt to survive this day, Roy attempts to call his estranged wife, Jemma Welles (Naomi Watts), but the phone is instead picked up by Dynow Labs' head of defense, Col. Clive Ventor (Mel Gibson) who informs him that Jemma is dead due to an accident. Roy knows that the time loop he's stuck in is tied to Jemma in some way, due to a strange visit they had the day before he got himself trapped. He then spends the time formulating a revenge plot, while getting answers to his questions slowly revealed to him with each trial and error attempt. Some of these answers could spell out the end of the world if Roy doesn't come through. Things are fairly basic here, and not much comes as a surprise while you're watching it. But if you're a dude looking for a fun action movie with a dark sense of humor and a whole lot of violence, this could be right up your alley. As many like to put it, including myself, this is straight up "dude porn" in that regard. It's just your average balls-to-the-wall action flick that will allow you to throw your brain out the window for a couple of hours, and revel in the shoot-em-up gore that we all find so satisfying after a really bad day. Again, it does it all with a dark sense of humor as well. Although, I will admit that there's a line or two here that might make one cringe and think it awkward - especially when delivered by Mel Gibson at one particular point. You will know it when you hear it. The film comes to us from director Joe Carnahan who also did 'The A-Team' and 'Smokin' Aces'. So to say that this is a dumb action movie that's perfectly enjoyable just for the fun of it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It's currently available for rent for a decent, non-gouging price online, and I'd actually highly recommend it for anyone looking for such a film. One could almost watch this in place of whatever games they are playing on their PS5's (if, God willing, they managed to get their hands on one). It's a movie to have fun with, not take seriously, and just enjoy the thrill. 3/5 With another Disney+ Premier Access title, the first question to come to mind would probably be "is it worth it"? After all, 'Mulan' was sub-par, and it's truly surprising that Disney didn't drop their prices after so much outcry over such a cost. Here, in Canada, I'd be paying less to see this on an IMAX screen, in 3D. So with that, as a single person watching this, the answer is a straight up "no" - but honestly, no movie is worth such a cost to watch alone. Before you get the wrong idea, however, I will say that a big chunk of that cost can be forgiven if you're sitting down to watch this with the family - I'd say three people, plus. That still doesn't mean that Disney can't stand to lower that price though. Remember, you still need to be a Disney Plus subscriber on top of that cost. My deep down personal opinion is that anyone can just wait it out for a few of months for easier access at a lower cost. However, that's also just speaking for myself. It all depends on what gets you hyped, really, and this IS the next big Disney title in the tradition of 'Tangled', 'Frozen', and 'Moana'; all very successful films for impressionable young women. In this tale, we learn of a land called Kumandra which was once taken over by the Druun; a plague of evil spirits that turn people into stone, and multiply with every victim. A group of dragons who act as providers for Kumandra, use their remaining magic to create an orb that will ward off the Druun and revive the human population. In doing so, the dragons turn into stone, themselves. Kumandra then divides its borders in a power struggle for the orb, based on their placement along a dragon-shaped river. The orb stays in Heart, where our heroine, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) and her Father, Benja (Daniel Dae Kim). The other tribes consist of Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail; all of whom believe they deserve the orb for their own reasons. Benja dreams of one day making Kumandra whole again, however, and invites the tribes to join theirs for a peace offering of a meal consisting of ingredients from each nation. With this, Raya meets the likes of a girl from the Fang tribe named Namaari (Gemma Chan), and discovers that they have a great deal in common, especially when it comes to their fascination with dragons. Raya's trust goes too far, however, when she shows Namaari the dragon orb. Namaari backstabs Rya to obtain the orb, and eventually all tribes get involved in a struggle. The orb drops, shatters, and each tribe obtains a piece of it in order to keep the now unleashed Druun at bay with its magic. One of the many victims turned to stone from the Drrun ends up being Benja, and for the six following, Raya sets out on an off-screen journey to try to find the last dragon, Sissu (Awkwafina). Sure enough she finds her, but Sissu isn't quite what Raya expected - and may not be what one would expect if one hasn't seen the trailer. The two then embark on a journey to find the other orb fragments and try to bring her father (and everyone else effected by the Druun) back to life. For yours truly, the best way to describe this movie is that it's a pleasant surprise. I mean, where to begin? Fist off, Sissu was one of those characters I thought might be problematic at first, as she's actually a comedy relief character who, at first, feels like a bit of a speedbump. There's a lot of really cool, beautifully animated, intense moments before her reveal, so in the beginning, she kind of takes you out of it. The crazy thing is, however, she slowly evolved into one of my favorite characters in the film. She's got jokes, and plays a bit like 'Aladdin's Genie, but she's got some depth too, and her backstory she gives Raya is actually pretty heart-felt. There's a lot here that speaks to a lot of social situations these days, especially when it comes to people being people, and seemingly wanting war for their own gain instead of living in peace. I know things aren't as black and white as that, but at the very least, this is something that might make you think. On top of a great story here, there's also a great bunch of likable characters. Not to spoil anything much, but Raya meets someone from each tribe along her journey who want to help her, as they have all experienced loss too. The execution is pretty reminiscent of 'Wizard of Oz', except that as we carry on Raya's journey, we see the potential for peace and unity with each new character. She's joined by a young, witty boy named Boun (Izaac Wang), a thieving baby named Little Noi (Thalia Tran), a muscle-bound but friendly warrior named Tong (Benedict Wong) and Raya's mount (a sort of giant armadillo-pug), Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk). Every character here is pretty great in their own way, but my personal favorite is Little Noi. That combination of extremely cute and totally badass gets me almost every time, and she's easily one of the best at it. I could go on and on about praising this movie, but I do have to wrap up the review at some point. Just to make it quick though, it's also full of gorgeous animation, settings that transport you into the film's magical world, a wonderful score, great action sequences, a total lack of singing (which I typically don't mind, but it is still a breath of fresh air to not have another potential 'Let It Go' on our hands), it gauges every emotion, and last but definitely not least - it's a near all-female cast and a total "girl power" movie but it does it ALL without getting into anything typical. No boy-slamming, no love interest at all, a boy and a man join Raya on her journey, there's nothing about what men thought women should be, and it all felt so natural and flowing. Raya is just a character who is joined by other characters to accomplish a mission that will save humanity, namely her father. I award it BIG points for pulling off such a thing. Of the new list of empowered Disney "princesses", I have been pretty steady on having 'Moana' as my front-runner... but this definitely took her off that throne. Color me thoroughly impressed! 5/5 Is it just me, or are DC films the undisputed champions of the "mixed review". The first 'Wonder Woman' seemed to be the most positively reviewed while basically everything else ends up being a fun ride with some great visual effects, but with little substance. People love them just as much as people seem to hate them, and some, like myself, aren't exactly fans, but understand some of the appeal. This is one of those truly medium entries into the DC library. A friend of mine gave it a one-word review of "meh", and I have to say, I'm right there with him. The film opens sometime in the past where a young Diana Prince (Lilly Aspell) participates in an athletic competition for the Amazonian women on Themyscira (the hidden world where the Amazonians live). This part of the film is pretty awesome, and could easily be watched a a clip before going through the first (and far superior) film; it sets up Diana's overall character. I won't say much about it, but it's a lot of fun, a good point is made, and it makes you think of Diana's actions as a hero the first time around. It's a very entertaining section of the film, and Lilly Aspell is one of these young actors I would suggest keeping an eye on for years to come - she delivers enough that you can really route for her, and in such a short window of time. After a peek at Diana's youth, we Fast-forward to 1984, where Diana works as a senior anthropologist as the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. In the meantime, she fights crime as Wonder Woman throughout the city. One day, at work, she meets an insecure brainiac named Barbara Ann Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who looks up to Diana, and even envies her. Barbara is asked by the FBI to examine a relic that appears to be simple plastic, but apparently has the ability to grant wishes. Barbara makes a wish to be more like Diana, and Diana unknowingly makes a wish to see her deceased lover, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) again. Diana gets her wish (kind of) as Steve returns in the body of another man, but more interestingly, Barbara inadvertently becomes more like Diana than she could have imagined. Meanwhile our villain is a wealthy oil tycoon named Max Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) who is after the stone (dubbed the "Dream Stone") to not only save his failing oil company, but go power hungry and wish to become the embodiment of the Dream Stone itself. This way, he has the power to not only grant wishes, but take whatever he wants. Each wish comes with a cost, however, and there's a bit of a Money's Paw thing going on through the film. While the first film easily remains DC's best modern title (at least in the 'Justice League' Universe), its follow-up isn't terrible, but fairly bland. If 'Wonder Woman' is a fresh, cold, glass bottle of Coca-Cola, '84' is a bit more like an unrefrigerated can of Coke you got from your basement stash - it's tolerable, but it's just nowhere near the same. A lot about this is very reminiscent of older superhero movies, and 'Batman Returns' was a title that kept springing to mind. I find Barbara's journey here very drawn from Michelle Pfeifer's Catwoman. Hell, she even becomes Cheetah Girl, and gets manipulated by a rich tycoon named "Max". This is where my mixed emotions about the film really come into play. The fact of the matter is, this is a movie entitles 'Wonder Woman 1984', so for it to play like an oldschool superhero movie does make a lot of sense. That said, however, it still feels like a somewhat lazy excuse to go back to nostalgic roots instead of giving us a worthy follow-up to such a great predecessor. 'Wonder Woman' is DC's bread and butter, and though the film wasn't necessarily bad, it wasn't quite what it could have been. I can't say I was thoroughly disappointed; this wasn't like watching 'Batman & Robin'. But it might be in the same realm as... well, 'Batman Returns' - it's okay, but it has nothing on the previous film. It's just average at best, and certainly not the heroic film the first one was. 3/5 The first Christmas movie I have sat down to watch this year is a bit of a doozy. By the end, I really didn't know what to think. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, it was a bit awkward in some points, but at the same time, I wish I got to see it on the big screen. I have never in my life been this torn on a Christmas movie, and I think it all just boils down to how bizarrely fitting it is for it to be released in 2020. You look at this and you start to wonder "my God, is this the feeling Christmas is gonna give me this year?" Here's the plot; a somewhat crotchety Chris Cringle (Mel Gibson) runs his shop on a farm, close by North Peak, Alaska. He's happily married to Mrs. Claus, or Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), as she's named here. There's a bit of an "elephant in the room" when it comes to those particular casting choices, but all it does is further my confusion as to how I feel about Mel Gibson, so I'm just gonna focus on the film itself. Getting back to Ruth, she's the typical Mrs. Claus figure; baking cookies, knitting, sweet attitude. She reminds one of the typically sweet grandmother. Anyway, the couple find themselves on the financial decline because of naughty children and... how that makes sense when bad kids get coal, I don't know, but we just go with it. The US government has an interest share with Chris' business, and sends a Captain Jacobs (Robert Bockstael) to propose a contract for producing jet fighter components for the military. Realizing they really need it, the couple go through with things and this is what becomes of Santa's workshop - a place to construct components for the military; I mean, how depressing is that? Luckily, for the movie's sake, the elves kind of just take it in stride instead of having the film pull the "feel sorry for them" routine. The elves are there to work for whatever Santa needs, and that's always been the kind of loyal elf I enjoyed - loyal, and out to deliver the goods to millions of happy children. Children in the year this takes place, however, are seen to have become pretty terrible. This includes spoiled rich brat, Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) who loses a "Best of Show" diorama contest, and essentially threatens the winner with the darkest of things. This, along with a probable many other things, earns him a lump of coal on Christmas morning. He then swears revenge by putting a hit out on Santa, using his personal hitman, Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins). The film's central plot revolves around this portion of the story, and it's one of those situations that's meant to be comedic, but it's almost just too dark. All in all, it's one of those brilliant concepts that was somewhat poorly executed. Taking the plot of this, it could have been a hilarious action/comedy if given to the right person. But this comes from brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms who are clearly very much on the Indie movie scene. Instead of taking the concept of a wronged kid taking revenge on Santa and having a lot of fun with it, the film almost takes itself too seriously, and it just seems to make this kind of role inescapable for Mel Gibson. Even as Santa Claus, Mel's gotta be a scruffy-lookin', gritty badass. But as far as the best Badass version of Santa that exists, as far as I'm concerned, that honor goes to 'Rise of the Guardians'. If you want a cheery Christmas this year, and want to leave all the drama of this year behind you, I might just recommend avoiding this one. There's nothing really cheery, funny, or pleasantly dramatic in this one, and no real Christmassy takeaway at the end. so much as a strict message towards kids who aren't even allowed to watch the movie in the first place, as it's rated R. By the time you're done watching, you are just confused on what to think, and you kinda wanna turn to different dark Christmas movies. For example, 'Bad Santa' is still hilarious, and Even 'Krampus' is a lot of fun for a horror movie. I'll give this movie its core concept, and the originality behind it, but I wish it was put in someone else's directorial hands. Either way, it does have me curious about what else these Nelms brothers have done. 3/5 Although I still consider the whole superhero/superpower thing cool, I can't really deny that it has somewhat started its decent after peaking with 'Avengers: Endgame'. Everyone feels a bit differently about the whole situation, and I remain somewhat positive for now. But this was definitely a title that made me question whether or not they've finally run out of ideas enough to simply repeat them. This one comes to us from Norwegian writer/director André Øvredal; the guy who made 'Trollhunter' and 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark', both of which I reviewed fairly positively. It's also not full-Norwegian like 'Trollhunter', so subtitles meet a kind of half-way point. This seems to be this director beginning to spill over into American filmmaking, although still staying true to his routes - routes that sadly repeat what American films have already done to death. Quite basically, a guy named Eric (Nat Wolff) wakes up in the woods after a supposed fire. Dazed, he wanders and tries to fix himself up at a medical clinic, but is harassed by a car full of teenagers, one of which he ends up killing through some unknown power. The police eventually pick Eric up, and have a young psychologist named Christine (Iben Arkelie) speak to him about the apparent murder, as well as a fire that killed five people he's suspected of starting. He doesn't quite understand his powers, only that they go off when he's emotional and long story short, he and Christine eventually become fugitives while trying to learn what happened to him, and how he can harness and control his powers. Being that it's all Norwegian and deals with superpowers, namely lightning, I'll give you two guesses as to what the story touches on. Combine that with a touch of just about any 'X-Men' movie and some 'Infamous' and this is what you get. But it's not crossed over in a good, creative way. It's just... repetitive. There's nothing much here you haven't seen before. I think the biggest criticism I can give to the film is that it drags to a point where it makes something about having superpowers actually kind of boring. Nothing much happens here, and it spends most of the time with the same lingering questions over their heads - to put it bluntly, "what's up with these superpowers". Other movies have done this kind of thing creatively and well while being their own thing; 'Chronicle' really springs to mind as a good example. This is a movie that's just kind of going through the motions, and it's truly un-unique. At the end of the day, this is a bit of a throwaway, but I still have my eye on this director for his work on 'Trollhunter' and 'Scary Stories'. He may just be one of those hit-or-miss guys, and in that case, this was one title he "missed". Although it may be decent for Norway, as it touches on some of that folklore, in North America we have superheroes coming out the wazoo and delving into Norwegian folklore covers only a few of them (namely one). It's not exciting or really even fun, and it takes itself too seriously, giving us a brooder who even Batman would look at and tell he needs to calm the hell down. I think the one thing I could possibly give this movie is in how it ends on a complete tone shift that somewhat fits its story. But even still, without getting too far into spoiler territory, it takes from things like 'Infamous' and doesn't feel entirely unique. All in all, one way or another, this is something you've seen before. Guy is confused about new powers, someone helps him understand his powers, and it's up to him to harness and control those powers before he kills everyone. It's a bit of a blend of superhero film tropes, but there really isn't much here to help it stand on its feet. 2/5 I flip-flopped between a few movies for this week, and it was pretty irritating. Unfortunately, this virus that has 2020 living under its shadow contributes to a lot of last minute adjustments on top of everything else. So, if you see a title change on any of my upcoming reviews, there's a decent enough reason for it. Here's hoping I won't have to flip-flop for too long. Anyway, I finally landed on 'Ava', after it changed its mind a couple of times on its release date. We open the film with Ava (Jessica Chastain) posing as a limo driver, and we quickly find out that she's a trained assassin. Before offing her target, however, she asks what he did. This becomes the key to what happens later. After the hit is carried out, she heads to Boston to meet her sister, Judy (Jess Weixler), who she hasn't spoken to in ages. It's revealed that Ava ran off eight years ago, presumably due to a love triangle situation involving her sister and a guy named Michael (Common - that's who plays him, not just a jab on how common the name Michael is). We further learn about her Mother (Geena Davis) in the hospital, and there's a lot of family conversation about Ava's disappearance and what she's been doing this whole time. However, Ava reveals nothing. Going back to what was mentioned about her questioning her target about what he did, this is breaking protocol. By breaking protocol, she becomes a risk and soon her own Black Ops organization starts to come after her; namely her superior, Simon (Colin Farrell). Alongside him for much of the movie is Duke (John Malkovich), who seems to sort of play the role of messenger here. He wants Simon to leave Ava alone, but talks to them both, conveying what's up with either side. But to keep things super basic, it's a sort of survival movie in the same way 'John Wick 2' is, but far less exciting. For as badass as Chastain looks here, her action scenes are pretty limited. There's a lot of talk and banter here, and some of it seems pretty unnecessary. For example, I didn't really feel like the mother needed to be a part of things, necessarily. It just seemed like an excuse to get Geena Davis' classic name in there, and give you a character to empathize with. Empathizing with a character is good, sure, but not when it feels kinda forced. Then again, maybe that's just me. Really, that's not even the film's biggest problem. I think the elephant in the room here is that yet again we have ANOTHER movie where the badass heroine is seemingly caught up in some sort of love triangle. It doesn't add much to anything, it's just kinda there and really doesn't need to be. Sure, it led her to run off and become an assassin, but you could make up a lot of things to cause that. It irritates me that it always seems to have to be a thing. The bottom line here is that there are far better movies like this out there. When this is over, it doesn't leave any sort of impact on you, and it feels pretty typical for what it is. An example of a movie more like this that really stuck with me was 'Atomic Blonde'. I gave it a 3, but truth be told, it probably deserves a bit more. By the end of that year, going through the movies that stood out in my head, I remember it being one of them. This sort of just left me wanting more, because as soon as things really get good, the movie approaches its ending. I will give this film its climax, and Chastain does pretty well, looking almost like a Terminator in one of the final sequences. But up until that point, despite a punch or two being thrown, it drags a bit. At the end of the day, I don't think I'd call 'Ava' a complete waste of time. The action sequences are fairly solid when they do happen, and it's interesting to see so many different big names attached to it; mainly Geena Davis, who I haven't personally seen since 'The Exorcist' Netflix series (although I know she's also in 'GLOW'). I just think story-wise, it's fairly typical. It's one of those movies where you can call what's gonna happen fairly easily. However, it does seem that this wasn't a film destined for the theaters, and straight to digital/home release, so for what it is, it's just barely passable. I just know I've seen much better titles of its kind, and every actor here in something better. 3/5 If there's one movie that has people's attention right now, it's probably Disney's 'Mulan'. Once destined for a theatrical release as their next big (and potentially unnecessary) live action remake, it is now found on Disney+ for a subscription cost of $8.99/month, "plus" (get it?) an additional cost of $34.99! This isn't so bad for big families who are trying to see, what I refer to now as a "rapid home release" movie and don't have access to the big screen. For one person trying to see it though, that's ridiculous! I'd spend less seeing whatever is out in IMAX 3D right now on a Saturday night! In the end, I convinced myself to go for it for a variety of reasons. For one, I simply wanted to check it out for myself. But on top of that, I needed a movie to review, and considering the way things have been going with it, this was just a good title to offer my own two cents on. Then on top of that, I convinced myself that had theaters been open and everything was normal, I'd most definitely had spent more that $40 over the past few months. That's only speaking for myself and my situation; I can find a way to justify that cost. Speaking for others, Disney needs to watch themselves, because this is the kind of stuff that makes people download their material instead of giving them money. I wouldn't fight anyone on doing that with this at all. Taking a look at the film itself, it's more or less what you'd expect it to be, but with the significant difference that Mulan (Yifei Liu) doesn't exactly get a whole lot of development here. She's an adventurous young girl who does her own stunts, and pretty bad ass right from the get-go. This disappoints her parents, however, who believe a woman's place is to honor and serve her husband one day. It definitely plays on the old-fashioned ways of thinking some women in some cultures struggle with even today. Soon, an imperial outpost is invaded by a band of Rouran warriors, lead by Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee), with the help of a shape-shifting witch named Xianniang (Li Gong). This leads the Chinese Emperor (Jet Li) to issue a decree, calling on every family to contribute one man to fight against Khan and his warriors. Mulan's elderly father, Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) having no sons, is forced to pledge himself. Mulan then second guesses her "place", steels her father's sword and armor, and heads out to be the one to represent her family, disguised as a young man. If she's discovered, it could mean death for dishonor, as a woman's place is definitely not on the battlefield according to their logic. Getting back to the development of Mulan, it's a bit of a problem. The whole thing about the original film was that she was out to prove to herself and others that a woman could do what a man could do, but she still has to struggle through rigorous training, surrounded by testosterone-loaded men. It's a journey we take with her. In this version, Mulan is already about as badass as she can possibly be, and you never really worry about her well-being. This one's more about the equality aspect in that she has the skill, but is not allowed to use it. So I think I get it, but I sincerely find the animated version much better. You could empathize with Mulan as an overall character in the original, where here, you can only really empathize with her as a woman. For some, that's just fine, and I get it. But speaking for myself and as a guy, I can honestly say I got more from the original. So, what about Mushu? Well, he's not in this, if you were hoping at all to see some version of him. Instead, her parents call on the strength of a phoenix to protect her. I think it's supposed to be something mystical when it shows up on screen, but it's hard to determine. There are so many moments you think it's just there, and for as beautiful as it looks, you can't fully tell if its real, some figment of her imagination, or something only she can see. That brings me to some positive points about the film, however, starting with some of the cinematography. The scenery looks amazing, and the action sequences flow pretty nicely. I will say that there are times the camera tries some unnecessary tricks, but I'd say it's at about 90%. More positivity about the film involve things like the idea of it being a little more serious. That was actually one of my main draws to the movie in the first place. Quite honestly when I Wiki'd the real Hua Mulan, all of the pieces essential to her story seem to still be there, so it ends up being a question of what struggle you appreciate more; the struggle of a female character who proves to herself and her family that she can fight like, or better than a man, or the struggle of a female warrior who outdoes men on the battlefield but technically isn't allowed to be there. I suppose to bring it down to a comparison of present day struggles, it's "I can be the awesome female player on the all-boys baseball team if only given the chance" vs "I'm a woman really good at what I do, why don't I get paid the same wages as men?" At least that was my perspective. Both are important enough to be the underlying message, but one will appeal to you more than the other, any way you slice it; one half of the pizza is meat-lovers, one half is Hawaiian. At the end of the day, I personally find the animated version better overall, and that's probably not a surprise to many. I tend to stick to originals over the live-action remakes as it is, with 'Jungle Book' being the only real exception; in that case, I kinda liked the remake a bit more. In any case, this will be streaming on Disney+ soon enough for free, and I highly recommend just waiting. It's nothing particularly special in my eyes, but it might hold its own for others. 3/5 The 'X-Men' movies, much like my reviews, are very hit-or-miss (hey, I can own up to it). 'New Mutants', despite a damn near three year wait, is no exception. Yes, it was really that long. Just look at the post date on this 'New Mutants' teaser trailer. After all that, and all my looking forward to what could have been a really cool horror movie with superpowers, I'm sad to say that what we got was actually pretty underwhelming. I expected it to become a new favorite, but I'd generally lump it in with the 'X-Men' titles that are just "okay". If you want me to rank all 12 of the previous, I'd probably say, from top to bottom: 'First Class', 'Deadpool', 'Logan', 'X-Men United', 'Deadpool 2, 'X-Men', 'Days of Future Past', 'The Wolverine', 'The Last Stand' 'Dark Phoenix', 'Apocalypse', 'Origins: Wolverine'. 'New Mutants', I'm gonna sandwich somewhere between 'Days of Future Past' and 'The Wolverine' - so just one down from right smack-dab in the middle of everything. I still really like the concept of what this could have been as opposed to what it ended up being, so it's a little bit of a let-down. What could have shown the side of kids who are terrified of their mutant ability turned into something... well, similar, but not quite what I'd hoped for. We are introduced to Dani Moonstar, as her Native American village is being attacked by some force her father claims to be a tornado. She becomes the soul survivor of the incident, but after being knocked out by something unseen, she awakens in a horror movie set of a hospital, run by a Dr. Cecelia Reyes. Reyes requests that Dani stay at the hospital to keep her safe, so they can study her and figure out what her mutant abilities are. As it turns out, the facility is there to house new mutants (boom, title drop) who may be a danger to not only others, but themselves, and the idea is to gain control over what could be lethal abilities before being sent out into the world. I really like that concept, and it's even mentioned in the movie that sometimes most unfortunately, killing or hurting people is just a part of having these uncanny abilities. Chances are, as one is discovering one's Mutant ability, someone will get in harms way. Within the hospital, she meets a handful of other mutants, and together they form the Mutant Breakfast Club. Sam Guthrie ("Cannonball" - Charlie Heaton) who can fly at jet speed, Roberto da Costa ("Sunspot" - Henry Zaga) with the ability to manipulate solar power, Illyana Rasputin ("Magik" - Anya Taylor-Joy) has inter-dimensional sorcery abilities, and Rahne Sinclair ("Wolfsbane" - Maisie Williams) who can plain and simply transform into a wolf, and has a keen interest in befriending the new girl. They learn together that they are all there for being associated with some sort of tragedy in their past, having something to do with their powers - but I won't say much more, as that's some of what adds to the horror aspect of the film - some of it, admittedly rather disturbing. While the team, other than maybe Illyana, believe they are there to get their powers focused and under control so they can one day join the X-Men, but the big question the film dangles above your head is, are they? This is, after all, considered a kind of horror movie. Right away, one has a hard time imagining that it's gonna end happily, and I'll just get it out of the way, as soon as you see the set-up of everything, it's relatively obvious what the twist is gonna be. This causes the movie to lose some points. Hell, you can probably tell what's gonna happen just based on the trailers. However, I will give it some credit for having a very cool climax, and a whole other twist I didn't quite see coming. So there IS a balance, of sorts. It covers some intriguing ground for an 'X-Men' movie, having less to do with being viewed as "different" in society, but more to do with how these powers have left a mental scar. It shows that not every power can be viewed as an "awesome gift", when indeed, it's more of a nightmare to manage it. Truth be told, I may manage to enjoy this a touch more than others who are actually fans of the comic series. I went to see it with one such friend, and sure enough, he did point out some flaws and changes that were made. I knew nothing about this 'X-Men' team going in, only that they existed, and even to me the movie was just okay. I might just recommend waiting for home release to check it out, if you're curious, because there's not a whole lot of it that begs to be seen on a big screen. 3/5 Right out of the gate, this is a film that demands re-watch value for no other reason than to be able to wrap your head around what's going on. In truth, I think I got the essential gist of things, but I do find this to be probably Christopher Nolan's most confusing film. I was good with 'Inception', teetered a little bit with 'Interstellar', but this kinda broke me. That said, I feel like it would be something I could catch on to upon the second or maybe even third viewing. I would like to see it again at some point, and all of the potential is there for me to really like it. I just need to pay closer attention to things as it's one of those "blink and you miss it" kind of movies, so I'll do my best with giving you the basic plot. However, if you want to go in as blind as I was (did anyone going into this really and truly know what it was about?) I might suggest zipping down to the rating. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers, but I can't tell you what the movie's about without going into some plot details either. Anyway, wish me luck, and if I'm off on anything, feel free to correct me. The film opens with an undercover SWAT operation at an opera house, where an unnamed CIA agent referred to only as "The Protagonist" (John David Washington) soon finds out he's being tested for something bigger (hello, 'Inception'). This leads him to an organization known as "Tenet", where he learns about inverted objects that can move backwards through time, the object in question being a bullet. This technology has the potential to cause World War III through time. With the aid of Neil (Robert Pattinson), the Protagonist is eventually lead to Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh); a man who can communicate with the future through a cool turnstile kind of contraption. This is about where the film starts to lose me. Part of it has to do with Sator's estranged wife, Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), who is blackmailed by Sator, keeping her from seeing her son by using a forged painting she once sold him. As far as the rest of the film goes, it gets complicated, and you have to pay really close attention, or else review it half-assedly. I really do want to see it again so I can at least attempt to pick up whatever pieces I'm missing. A few things that stood out for me included a lot of the originality we so commonly get from Christopher Nolan. If I say too much, I'll just start spoiling things, but the way time going backwards vs time going forwards is worked into this movie is beautifully done, and it makes for some really cool special effects that are probably as basic as running film in reverse. But it once again proves that Chris Nolan does not need big flashy CG, or even 3D, to send you on a visual effects fueled thrill ride. He's one of the more uncommon directors who understand that practical effects and simple tricks of the camera CAN be enough. I'd like to add that the acting is all around solid as well, and this goes doubly for Robert Pattinson, who is about to be The Batman and has people on edge who still associate him with a sparkly vampire. It's a good one to check out for his acting skills if you wanna see something a little less under the radar than 'Good Time'. The guy is good at what he does, and he fits into the Nolan-verse quite nicely. Of course, everyone is good here, though. John David Washington is very likable here, playing a good mix of the cocky hero, but also the hero who knows exactly what he's doing. He's an actor who is gonna go places. His last big role was for 'BlacKkKlansman', which was a critical hit, and now he's got a Nolan movie to tack onto his resume. This is a film that's doing well due to Christopher Nolan's good name, and the originality he puts behind his projects. Again, I'm not sure anyone truly knew what they were in for, opening weekend. It seemed to be one of those surprise films, and the trailer didn't give us a whole lot to go by, other than some cool visuals. It was a pleasant surprise, at that. The whole time I kept thinking to myself how much I'm gonna need to see it again to really figure it all out, but it most definitely has the potential to grow on me. 'Inception' will always be my highest ranked of his films (yes, even over 'Dark Knight'), but if you're a Nolan fan, and can follow things well, it's well-worth checking out on the big screen if at all possible - just BE SAFE! In the real world, we have no turnstile contraptions that can reverse time. 4/5 David Ayer is an interesting guy. For some reason, I can't seem to land on how I really feel about his films. On one hand, he wrote for movies like 'Training Day', and extended his writing to also direct great, gritty titles like 'End of Watch' and 'Fury'. On the other hand, 'Suicide Squad' provided my eyes and ears with the most God awful Joker I've ever seen in my life, and for me, the film only turned out okay at best. Sadly, this film makes the same cut as 'Suicide Squad' - okay at best. It's just a touch too typical for what it is, and there's nothing altogether surprising about it. For those of you looking at the Shia LeBouf images associated with this film, under the impression that it's his movie, fair warning, it is not. The main focus of the film is a family man named David Cuevas (Bobby Soto). He works the life of a "Tax Collector", along with his friend "Creeper" (LeBouf). The pair work for a behind the scenes crime lord known as The Wizard, collecting his cuts from local gangs who owe him. Picture a Mexican 'Pulp Fiction' Jules and Vincent, but with the very white Shia LeBouf as one of them. When The Wizard's former rival, Conejo (Jose Conejo Martin) comes back to L.A. from Mexico, however, David soon finds his whole world going topsy-turvy. As though the rivalry that upends Wizard's business isn't enough, David also finds himself desperate to protect his family; wife, Alexis (Cinthya Carmona) and kids, Casey (Aaliyah Samara Lopez) and Dillon (Ricardo Gonzalez). It's your average "owe money or get messed up" kind of movie, and not entirely new or different - but it is kinda neat to see the enforcers in a bit of danger. It's a take on the whole thing you don't often seem to get, but even with that, a lot of the film flows typically - that is until the last third where things really go off the deep end. Despite some glaringly bad reviews, I can say with assurance that for those of you who enjoy violence, this one has some pretty solid gore. Some of it is filmed, such as the busting up of a leg with a hammer, and some of it is off-screen, such as a face being dragged down a road... well, kinda off-screen. It takes a while for it to get going, but if you're any kind of gore hound, there's some decent material here for you. I know I cringed a few times, so it's effective at being unsettling. It's one for the hardened movie-watcher. As I mentioned at the beginning, this one makes the same cut as 'Suicide Squad' for me. There was a lot I didn't really care for, but there was still some thing I liked about it - mainly the offer of a different perspective on a rather typical set-up. The payoff here is pretty brutal, and you end up routing for David after a while, even if there's a few things that seem to blatantly tug on your heartstrings. David almost becomes too easy to empathize with, considering all of the horrible things he has to face. I might say that this is another one of those films that may very well have been better off as a video game. Hell, there's even a scene where David straight up "GTA"s a guy and steals his truck. I honestly laughed so hard at how unexpected it was - for the record it's about 59 minutes in. Otherwise it's pretty reminiscent of a lot of Ayer's typical work. It's gritty, it's gorey, it takes place in the mean streets, it's ripe with solid cinematography, it's a hard R rating, and just plain tough. You need a bit of a stomach to get through it at some points, but as an overall, I might like it better than 'Suicide Squad', but it's no 'Fury' - still, in my opinion, Ayer's best work. 3/5 It does happen every once in a while when I end up checking out a movie starring someone who is very controversial in society today. In this case, I'm taking a peek at Mel Gibson's latest film, but more out of a love of Emile Hirsch, who stars in a couple of past favorites. But the question remains; is Hirsch enough to save it? Spoiler alert, the answer is a big fat "no". Even without reading into Mel Gibson being in this (he's at that point where I see him as a fantastic director/actor but not a good person), there's simply not much to this movie. It's pieced together kinda weird, and by the end of it, I was mostly just confused. Now, that could just be me and the way my mind works, but upon seeing other reviews, it appears that I'm certainly not alone on that. The film opens in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 4pm, in the middle of a disastrous hurricane, where we see a handful of cops in the midst of a struggle. When one of the cops fires, potentially hitting the wrong person, the opening credits start rolling. We then go back in time by 8 hours where we see a heist taking place, which appears to be the stealing of a Picasso print... appears to be. We then cut to the cliched cop at the end of his rope, Officer Cardillo (Emile Hirsch) toying with the idea of suicide over the loss of a loved one - it's Mel Gibson's scene from 'Lethal Weapon', interestingly enough. Anyway, he is partnered up with another cop, Jess (Stephanie Cayo) to lead an evacuation of a precinct due to the brewing hurricane. One of the local residents, an former cop named Ray (Mel Gibson) refuses to leave, despite the advice from his daughter, Troy (Kate Bosworth). Eventually, the characters from the beginning of the film end up crossing paths with the cops while trying to pull off a heist during the hurricane. Though I don't believe we ever really know what they're after. The whole thing just ends up being one big action movie cliche with some truly strange twists and turns including a killer dog who hates cops, and might as well turn this into a monster movie. Once Mel Gibson gets off his ass and the shooting starts, it gets at least kinda fun, but as mentioned before, there's a lot of cliche moments in this. There also seems to be a lot of jumping around back and forth in the timeline, but I may just be blinking and missing things. For example, we see Gibson gun a guy down in his bullet proof vest, but then a later scene shows him getting said vest out of his closet. It's kinda hard to keep track of. But with all that said, is it worth the watch? Well, the obvious hurtle probably is Mel Gibson and having to be able to look past his, shall we say, real life moments he's provided us over the years. But say we all put our differences aside for an hour and a half (after all, I managed to with 'Hacksaw Ridge'), there is NOTHING this movie does that's new, it moves too damn fast, and it gives you very little leeway to care for any of the characters involved. There are some half-decent fight scenes, and the storm amplifies the action, but that's about it. Though it bears some similarities, this is no 'Die Hard' - not even close. By the end of it all, I kinda just wish I went for a different movie this week. Nine times out of ten, unless it's something incredibly unappealing, I tend to lean towards a major release, which is sometimes hard to determine with this whole VOD thing. Sometimes I dunno what was meant for the theater vs what was meant for VOD, and if this wasn't meant for theatrical release originally, I can give it a bit more slack. But even with that said, I'd sooner recommend any number of action movies that take place inside one building - 'Die Hard', 'Dredd', 'The Raid: Redemption'; all much better movies. I don't think I found it to be as horrible as most might, but it's still not very good. 2/5 Here we have a unique spin on a home invasion story, that judging by its trailers looks like it could be a good chunk of morbid fun. It honestly just looked like another 'Hannah' to me. It turns out, though, that this film is essentially what would happen if 'Hannah', 'Home Alone', 'Hostel' and 'The Strangers' were all blended together. The film opens with 13-year-old Becky (Lulu Wilson), being questioned by authorities about the recent events that took place at her family home. We then flash back to two weeks ago, where a bullied Becky, who lost her mother to Cancer a year prior, is still dealing with it. We don't really like Becky for the opening moments of the film. She's pretty much a brat, and one hopes that things will eventually pay off. Becky's big personal struggle is mostly with her father, Jeff (Joel McHale), who wants to move on with life. We do get that he's a good father, though, when he decides to keep their family home rather than move, as it's full of memories; mostly for Becky's sake. However, he also intends to compromise by moving forward with an interracial relationship with the new woman in his life, Kayla (Amanda Brugel) and her son, Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe). This triggers an emotional Becky to wander off to a nearby hideout where she pines for her mother, but also happens upon a mysterious key. Meanwhile, Neo-Nazi prisoner, Dominic (Kevin James) and his cronies, Apex (Robert Maillet), Cole (Ryan McDonald) and Hammond (James McDougall) make an escape from their transport van. They end up jacking a car (complete with showing off just how evil they are) and head straight towards the same home, in search of the same key Becky found. We don't know what it's for (nor do we ever find out), but before we know it, we get into another home invasion movie that finds Becky taking the concept of 'Home Alone' and cranking it to eleven. One might be wondering at this point where 'Hostel' enters into the configuration, while the other films I listed in the blend are fairly self-explanatory. To be blunt, it's the fact that this is much more of a torturous gore-fest than I figure it was going to be. I expected violence, but some of the kills in this would make 80's slasher icons rethink their careers. This is definitely one for fans of a good on-screen blood bath, especially if you wanna see it all happen to a group of Neo-Nazi scumbags. That said, I personally tend to veer away from torturous kills, so there was a lot here that had me routing for her, but then second guessing myself. Though Becky bears certain similarities in this to a Jason Voorhees, in that she's basically your anti-hero bent on revenge, her methods are so much more brutal. Once she gets her hands on one of these guys she goes full Energizer Bunny, and you sit there going "okay, okay, you got him!" It could very well be satisfying to some, and I'd understand why, but it tended to be a bit much for me. At least Jason's kills tended to be swift with no messing around. It seemed clear to me that the creators of the film REALLY had it in for racist folks, and more power to them for having that mindset. These guys are the worst kind of villains, even going so far as to harm a couple of dogs... so maybe put a dash of 'John Wick' in that blend, too. I thought it this one was mostly quite good, but I have to admit that I'd have appreciated it much more of the contrast between a fun action movie and an all-out gore fest was adjusted more. I also have a real problem with the idea that we have no idea what this mysterious key unlocks. Much of the time, I appreciate a movie making you use your imagination, but there's a big difference between "what is the golden glow in the briefcase?" and "what does the item that completely drove the film do?" That key is the whole reason anything is happening, and by the end, we have no idea why we went through everything we did. I'm sorry if that's a spoiler, but maybe you'll be less disappointed going into it than I was, if you already know that. This is one of those films that was kinda made for coming home and checking out after having the worst kind of day. It's the movie version of something like coming home to shoot up a bunch of demons in a high-paced round of 'Doom'. It doesn't serve as a whole lot more though. There's not really any substance to it, and it's just scary violent and made me uneasy for most of it. Generally, when the new anti-hero gets a good kill, my reply is "Nice!" or "Ooh! Damn!" but in this, there was actually a lot of "Jesus!" and "Stop, stop, he's already dead!" So, admittedly, it's not quite for me and could have been much better than it was. But I do still think that fans of a good gore-fest can get their moneys worth with this one. Just proceed with caution, especially if you happen to be a dog lover! 3/5 In the early days of May, 2020, while everyone is still quarantined because of an asshole virus, the search for "new" movie releases for the week didn't exactly offer great results. There's some well-known stuff coming that I've already watched and reviewed like 'The Invisible Man', but the presence of Jeffrey Dean Morgan lead me in this direction. I am, however, sad to say that I probably missed out on something amazing with a title like 'Samurai Marathon'. Instead, I settled for this most simplistic of stories which really plays out more like a straight-to-TV Sunday afternoon movie (but with swearing and a touch of violence). It's classified as an action drama, according to IMDb, but I'l be the first to tell you that there's next to no action to be had here. This is really just another story about a broken father/son relationship because the Dad's a bit of a deadbeat. It opens by showing us that father, Cal McCarthy (Morgan) has taught his son, Dallas (Julian Feder) the ins and outs of playing pool like a pro. Together, they play at a local pub and win some cash, but this upsets Gina; Cal's wife and Dallas' mother (Julie Ann Emery). Cal and Gina have a fight, and Cal takes off, leaving a note that he won't be back. An upset Dallas finds the note and slips out of the house, right under his mother's nose to go searching for his father. By chance, Dallas meets Joe Haley (David Strathairn) after a confrontation with some pool hustlers. Joe takes Dallas into his care and drives him on a journey to try to find his Dad. Of course, Dallas' situation also brings up some of Joe's own shady past that he's been running from for quite some time. It's another case of two unlikely friends learning a thing or two from each other, and it's nothing that particularly begs to be seen. Everything about this movie is average at best, and while it's not really what I'd call a bad movie, there's nothing here to totally capture your attention and rope you in. For Morgan fans, you should probably also know that he's really not in it that much. Most of the movie has to do with the developing friendship between Joe and Dallas. Joe is interesting enough to keep some attention, being an old guy with incredible reflexes and a mysterious past. But Dallas... Dallas was a pain in the ass. I don't usually go off on a character, but this kid really stuck into my side like some irritating thorn. He is always angry and lashing out, being a jerk to people who are trying to be nice, and everything he says - EVERYTHING - is with this weird wimper like he's constantly on the verge of crying. You cannot understand what this kid says half the time, because he mumbles everything. In such a case, I'm more inclined to blame the director for a bad performance. But just to put it out there, I think 'Episode II' Anakin Skywalker is, in fact, much more tolerable than this guy. At the very least, we could understand him. Anyway, painful performances aside, as I mentioned before, this one is incredibly basic. If you have an hour and a half to spare, it wouldn't hurt to check out, but I dunno how much attention it deserves. It's nothing that hasn't really been seen before, and the delivery of everything isn't altogether likable. The most interesting character here probably IS Cal, with Morgan pulling off a pretty all-out performance and we just don't see that much of him. My humble opinion; again, not altogether bad, but with a lack of interesting plot points and the main character's entire performance, it's just not all that worth it in the long run. It's almost a 3, but I'm sorry to say that the kid's attitude leaves me with little to care about. 2/5 This one comes to us from slightly green director Jason Lei Howden. The only other film under his belt as far as being director goes is a 2015 horror comedy called 'Deathgasm'. He's otherwise best known as an effects artist with plenty of solid visual effects films under his belt, including 'The Avengers', the three 'Hobbit' films and 'War for the Planet of the Apes' just to name a few. His talent shines through here with the team he has assembled, as this is a fun, action-packed visual party for the eyes. In what seems to be an alternate near future (as modern references is made, but the environment is somewhat futuristic), Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) works a dead end job, pines for his ex-girlfriend, Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and uses his spare time to troll an internet sensation known as "Skizm"; a deadly video game-like competition using real people. It could be equated to a modern Coliseum wherein the killing is generally for entertainment value, and it acts very much like your average YouTube channel. If you might recall 'Death Race', it's similar. Miles trolls the wrong man, however, and soon finds himself thrown into the thick of things when his apartment is invaded, he's knocked out, and he awakens with his hand bolted to a couple of handguns. He's told that his competition is a girl named Nix (Samara Weaving) who just so happens to be the best at what she does. At first, there's a lot of running, but when Nova becomes a part of the game, Miles finds he has to overcome his fears and fight for the woman he still loves. I loved this movie, but audiences will generally be split. If you came here to see a good story and good character development, you're not gonna get much. The whole concept here is as simple as your average arcade beat-em-up. It hits the ground running, there's a lot of action, plenty of blood and gore, and it's sprinkled with a generous sense of humour. But this is not something you see as a piece of art. This is something you sit down and watch when your day sucks and you need an outlet. It's up there with things like 'Dredd' or 'Upgrade'. You're there to enjoy the roller coaster ride that it is. This fits in very nicely with that odd sub-category that 'Scott Pilgrim' made so famous - video game movies that aren't based on actual video games (again, I'd lump both 'Dredd' and 'Upgrade' in there). It always kinda blows my mind that movies like this can be made and enjoyed while actual video game-based movies still seem to struggle. That said, I feel like this does owe a bit to 'Scott Pilgrim' for a lot of its style, and 'Deadpool' for a lot of the humour - even taking the "this is NOT a love story" line right out of it. So it's not without a few odd weaknesses. However, if you've had a rough day and you wanna just unwind with something that's kinda angry but fun all at once, this is a good go-to. Despite a few editing issues (there's a lot of cuts in several action scenes) it's visually appealing, funny, and it gets straight to the point. Perhaps not entirely original, but I'll be damned if I didn't still have a great time watching it. It may seem odd, but it pumps you up. Again, audiences will be split down the middle, but it's a great watch for the audience it's actually aimed at. 4/5 I must admit that I tend to go against the grain pretty heavily on Vin Deisel movies. To most critics, his movies are just mindless, pointless action that they try so hard to find some kind of meaning in, as if they should be something deeper than they are. In my opinion, however, he's basically our new Schwarzenegger. His movies are the movies to watch with a big bucket of popcorn, when you just wanna toss your mind out the window and have some fun for a couple of hours. And there's nothing wrong with that! This one is no exception to that analogy, so I implore people not to read too deeply into things here, either. Based on the Valiant Comics of the same name, 'Bloodshot' revolves around Ray Garrison (Diesel), and elite marine soldier who finds himself captured, only to be murdered, along with his wife, Gina (Talulah Riley). Ray is brought back to life by a covert team of scientists, helming an institution called Rising Spirit Tech. They instill in him the uncanny ability to rapidly heal, using nanotechnology. The only catch is that he can't remember anything, aside from very faint and indistinguishable flashes. Here, he discovers that he's not alone, as he meets several other enhanced individuals. His lead doctor, Emil Harting (Guy Pierce) has a cybernetic arm; the primary that he gets along with, KT (Eiza González) has a special respirator, making her immune to inhalents; Tibbs (Alex Hernandez), an expert marksman who went blind has been fitted with special technology that allows him to see everything; and Jimmy Dalton (Sam Heughan), who claims to be a member of SEAL Team Six (who took out Bin Laden) who has been fitted with cybernetic legs. While training, and discovering his new abilities, Garrison eventually chooses to go after who he believes to be his wife's killer, once he manages to remember the final scenes of his former life. But the viewer learns very quickly that there's much more to him, and what these scientists want him for, than meets the eye. The big question through the whole thing is basically "can he ever get it right"? If you watch it, you'll get what I mean by that, but until then I'm choosing to remain a bit cryptic, being that there's quite a few twists and turns that the whole thing takes. My only real criticisms are that the general ideas behind this one aren't entirely original, and though things looked and felt cool enough, nothing really popped out enough to wow me. In my humble opinion, there's a much better version of this that came out a couple of years ago called 'Upgrade' - a film I often claim to be "the better 'Venom' movie". It has to do with a lot of the same subject matter, and it's a hell of a lot more intense and fun than this. That said, I still can't quite claim this as being "bad" so much as "fun, and perfectly passable". Aside from other film critics, digging into this one a bit, another big set of critics seem to be fans of the original comics. So I will say that if you have read it through, and you get a lot from it, you may very well be disappointed, as that seems to be the case for the most part. That said, if you're like me, and completely unfamiliar, it's as I said before - a fun action movie with cool effects and not to be read into too deeply. 3/5 |