Movie Review Transformers Age of Extinction (2014)

The fourth installment stalls.

 

Not the smoothest roll-out

The rub: A disjointed disappointment that delights in destruction, adores the droids, but is devoid of details.

 

Maybe it’s fitting that the Dinobots are the saviors since this franchise is suddenly feeling long in the transforming tooth. Let’s jump right to the obvious. Shia LeBeouf is out and Marky Mark is in. The Autobots are out and the world is in peril again. It’s not so much that I dislike Shia [he was awesome in Nymphomaniac] , but it’s the horny-American teen cliché that I was tired of seeing. Well, this time it’s the overly protective father who is ultra-paranoid over his daughter’s…sexual awareness….um…sexuality… I mean, she’s supposed to be this underage, innocent teenie-bopper that just so happens to dress like she’s much older – also to the point that she is the barely-legal eye candy meant to replace the hormonal homerun hit in Meagan Fox.

 

We also have the camera-carrying douchebag from Cloverfield back in action as actor T.J. Miller is tapped to play the most annoying character possible. Which is actually hard to do after casting Stanley Tucci as the idiot scientist with an overly-generous number of unfunny punch lines and post action quips. These kind of portrayals have always been my problem with the modern Transformer movies. Are they for adults or kiddies? We have plot points that move along very childish lines, but then we have a high human death toll and cursing. We have Marines/Black Ops that are bad-ass, coupled with sophomoric humor, bits of slapstick and goofy caricatures. The mix doesn’t work for me, but we did get an awesome performance from Kelsey Grammer.

 

From flight to Knight…

The card returns with stereotypes

 

Revenge of the Fallen brought us the bumbling, buck-toothed, non-reading ice-cream truck twins. Age of Extinction features a slang-speakin–swag-spankin-mini-sellout. We also get to see that every Chinese person knows enough Kung Fu to beat up special agents and a Samurai Autobot that…well, whatever. There’s a lot of the familiar plot holes and numerous chase scenes that seem to be happening for no good reason. We have evil agents shooting to kill from across the room, but later getting the drop on our heroes and choosing bad-bad guy banter instead of just blasting away. The main action stars are also indestructible as they tumble, fall, crash and smash through walls and windows and get nary a scratch. I’m not sure if it’s the result of the 3-D format, but some of the effects looked off and some of the laws of physics seem totally ignored.

 

Souls without Spark

There’s a scene where Optimus Prime is engaged in combat and says that his opponent has no soul. It’s a fitting statement because it summarizes my entire feeling about this franchise. The original Transformers were all autonomous …cybernetic…sentient…beings. They had personalities that went well beyond gross characterizations. The identities were matched with what they transformed into and the bots had relationships with each other. Starscream was always plotting and scheming, but Soundwave had Megatron’s back and was his loyal top lieutenant. Now we are only left with slick-evil racers and ready to kick-much ass bravado. Character development is focused squarely on the human side of things and frankly, nobody cares to see that. Let’s see more of the Transformers world. How about the evil leader tell us his plan as he thinks of it, as opposed to some big reveal or weird recounting of the overall plan- right at the point that the writers think we might get lost. I go to these movies to see Transformers. They sold me on the Dinobots and then held them back for the final fight. For a movie that clocks in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, it’s a long time to wait.

 

Director Michael Bay is doing fine with the sprawling fight scenes, chaos and destruction. It’s up to writer Ehren Kruger (Dark of the Moon, Revenge of the fallen, the ring, Scream 3) to craft a story that weaves around the robots and fully develops them into characters we care about. The Transformers Age of Extinction is by no means a bad movie, it’s just not as good as it should have been. Before this movie series truly does go extinct, there better be some evolving.  I’m not a movie critic, I’m just critiquing a movie.

 

See all my movie reviews

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

What if it was Neo inside that Armored Personnel Unit?

The Matrix Revolutions meets Groundhog Day

Fighting Today’s war yesterday

Who and What? Tom Cruise plays a reluctant soldier, accidentally gifted with the ability to leap backwards in time. This allows him to fight against an alien invasion and repeat the most important battle over and over again until he gets it right.

Well, yeah, it’s a Tom Cruise movie so you know to expect a couple of things. One; he will be special, the greatest or the last and two; the movie will be about him and there won’t be many scenes without him in front of the camera. Thankfully, Tom Cruise still has his mojo maverick and shines in a movie whose premise affords us tons of action. Is it any good? Hells yeah.

The original story is based on a Japanese short story called All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. His property has the proper props and is propped with more profitable and palatable protagonists. Yes, this is the big screen western realization of his concept(s). And it’s a wonderful plot that allows us to witness the intense action of a futuristic war without any of that boring stuff like plot or character development. As movies and video games merge closer and closer together, it’s movies like this that blur the lines between CGI cut scenes and twitch-flicks. The movie does pause in a few places to add humor, wit and a bit of cleverness. A lot of it will be familiar, but fun and enjoyable.

The Angel needs you

Repeating Appearances

 

With so little time and focus to develop side characters, it’s important (Really, it’s the main reason) to cast deep into the actor pool and get characters that are familiar to you already. Emily Blunt plays Rita “The Angel of Versailles” or the Full Metal — eh, you’ll see in the movie. A friend asked “Is she hot?”, well no, she’s not playing for sexy (thank goodness), but has a character worthy of a starring role (no, we can’t show a woman saving the day in the cinema yet) and her story would make the perfect material for a video game. It’s Lara levels of lethal. Bill Paxton supports the war effort as Sergeant Farell -so imagine private Hudson from Aliens making it back home. It’s as if screenplay writers, Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butterworth [I wonder if that’s a pseudonym] got the casting choices right from their sidebar notes.

The Angel of Versailles

Director Doug Liman: Bourne Identity, Ultimatum and Supremacy shoots an epic combat theater and war, but keeps the focus up close and personal. It’s the Normandy invasion from Saving Private Ryan, but toned down to video game levels of visual violence. The aliens are mostly depicted as blurry masses of tentacles and we are never given that science and biology class of alien anatomy to fully figure out what we are fighting. The whys behind the war isn’t really explored either. Has it ever been done satisfactorily in a movie yet? Anyhow, Edge of Tomorrow uses the sci-fi trope of a singular consciousness, hive-mind species. I like the swarming horde visual, but really, earthling soldiers pouring over a hill would look just as swarmy to any opposing force. It’s the cheap exit point of ‘kill the one and you kill them all’ that would allow one special man {guess who} to defeat an ENTIRE war machine by himself. That aside, Edge of Tomorrow is a great spectacle with enough Cruise special-ness to keep you engaged for the entire run. You’ll actually wish for more. I know I did. Here’s to Tom Cruise sticking with the sci-fi genre and giving us another one for the shelves. I’m not a movie critic, I’m just critiquing a movie. Check out my review of Oblivion and a run down the list of all the movies I’ve reviewed. Thanks for reading. What did you think?

Movie Review Index

Movies and Anime reviewed in alphabetical order.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Act of Valor (2012)

After Earth (2013)

Apollo 18

Battleship (2012)

Blade Runner (1982)

Blood & Gold (2023)

Chronicle (2012)

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Deliver Us From Evil (2014)

Drive (2011)

Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Elysium (2013)

Europa Report (2013)

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Gravity (2013)

Haywire (2011)

I Am Number Four

Immortals (2011)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

James Bond Skyfall

Jurassic World (2015)

Lone Ranger (2013)

Love (2011) – 2001 and Moon meet The Fountain

Lucy (2014)

Man of Steel (2013)

Oblivion (2013)

Only God Forgives

Pacific Rim (2013)

Prometheus (2012)

Riddick (2013)

Safe House (2012)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Silent Rage (1982)

SISU (2022)

Skyfall

Snow White & the Huntsman (2012)

Solaris (1972, 2002)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Super Dimension Fortress Macross

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Avengers (2012)

The Last Days on Mars (2013)

The Martian (2015)

The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)

The Thing (1951, 1982, 2011)

The Wolverine (2013)

Transformers Age of Extinction (2014)

Under the Skin (2013)

Underworld [Entire series]

World War Z (2013)

Wrath of the Titans (2012)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Movie Review X-Men: Days of Future Past

Wolverine and the X-men in their best outing yet.

 

Past and Future clash to Fix the first class

 

Wolverine meets the X-men and his claws go far…

 

            Time travel, time travel, time travel.

 

            Time travel: a writer’s ultimate crutch and vehicle to place characters (and actors) from different eras on the same screen. It’s always been a risky gamble that I have yet to see pay off- in a way that’s truly worthy of the writing reach. Ask the Star Trek franchise about it- Picard and Kirk, Spock and um…Spock.

 

X-Games      

So what we have here is a bleak future for the Earth as the human vs mutant war draws to a close with the extinction of anything with funky genes. Hugh Jackman’s popular Wolverine is sent back in time to unite Professor X and Magneto in order to change a pivotal event that leads mankind on a course for conflict and carnage. It’s a simple plot that neatly side steps the early reboot misstep of X-Men: First Class (2011). We get to keep the best parts of Class – James MCAvoy as young Xavier/Professor X and Michael Fassbender as Erik/Magneto…and we get to dump the weak parts like…the first class.

 

I hope you really liked The Wolverine (2013)

 

This movie should really be called “Wolverine and the X-Men: Days of Future Past”. It’s mostly Wolverine getting the spotlight along with the younger masterminds. The rest of the X-men become side characters whose roles are sliding dangerously close to cameo status. But that’s not too bewildering since the rine has had the most development and all that solo success. It’s uncanny (see what I did there?) that writers Simon Kindberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn did not elect to split the screen time a bit more equally between the future war (with sentinels buzzing about) and the 70s, where Wolverine is working, trying to set things right. It’s the same effect of seeing glimpses of the future in the Terminator series. Everyone wants to see more from the warfront. And honesty, you could have several confrontations that build momentum as the other X-men (in the future) hold the line until Wolverine finishes his mission. You’ll see what I mean.

 

The Blue Star

The beautiful blue Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is back in full hue and remains the object of everyone’s desire. Although it’s a little hard to swallow that she’d be so hell bent on following a course of disaster -even as EVERYONE tells her what she’s doing… is going to have grave consequences, literally. As it is, she’s a delight to see and has the best fight choreography and costume special effects work.

 

Fan-made fantastic artwork

So is it rated-X?

Yes, this is a good movie. There are moments of humor, twists, turns and a shock or two. And that’s not easy to pull off when you are dealing with time travel because you know- no matter how bad things get, one tick of the clock sets everything right. We are also dealing with the weirdness of the superheroes having weight based on their comic and cartoon history, starring in a movie that replaces most of that supporting back story. I’m still waiting for a large set piece. Out of all the movies, you’d figure Future Past would provide the perfect opportunity to show wide-scale action that could easily match and surpass anything the Avengers tossed our way. I mean that was a New York City battle. This is supposed to be a WAR. That disappointment aside, Future Past holds its place as the best X-Men movie, even with the heavy dose of Wolverine.

 

After Effects X

Stick around for the post credits clip. I don’t consider these spoilers as you pretty much have to already know to enjoy them. That character teased under the hood is Apocalypse and he is a very powerful adversary in the X-Men comics. Here’s the WIKI page about him for those that want to know more.

 

And…and….

I feel X-Men: Days of Future Past does well to tie up a good number of loose ends and fixes and few snags- even though it leaves a few knots in its time-line swimming plot. Hopefully we get what we are promised and the X-men get a future that’s more balanced and action packed. Now, if we can just figure out how to keep all these actors around.

I’m not a movie critic, I’m just critiquing a movie.

Movie Review Godzilla 2014

Act of Valor meets Silkwood meets Cloverfield and it works!

 

The King plays Vegas

The King of Monsters awakens in 2014

Let’s get the ugly business out of the way first. Godzilla (2014) represents the second attempt to bring American audiences the Japanese hero/anti-hero/King of Monsters. The previous 1998 attempt (starring Mathew Broderick) stripped the franchise of every theme and motif except for the big monster stomping around and hoped you wouldn’t notice. Once you miss the point of what Godzilla represents, you are left with the human interest that’s supposed to hold our attention between the monster-mash-melees. That is why this trailer got me so excited. We have a very solid acting performance by Bryan Cranston playing nuclear plant-specialist Ford Brody. You get a glimpse of soldiers HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumping into combat. We see massive destruction and the iconic roar – peppered in, with teasing shots of unknown monsters.

 

“Only one thing worse than a dragon… Americans.”

– Creedy in Reign of Fire (2002)

 

Yeah, I know, it’s the Americanizing that has everyone worried. Pacific Rim made good on adapting long-standing Japanese giant robot themes and turning out a Hollywood blockbuster. So what do we get here? Well, you get what you expect with a few turns and a scene or two developed strictly to move the plot along. These moments aren’t bad or too distracting by any means, but for a film that takes the Godzilla legend and itself so seriously, it’s a little eyebrow raising. We even have the eerie vocal lines from 2001: A Space Odyssey. But okay, Americans are the stars of the show. They are the ones to figure everything out (basically) and determine the fates of all involved. Ken Watanabe stars as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, whose considerable acting talents are pushed aside as he pretty much stays -stunned to the point of inaction for the entire movie. In summary, he represents the singular important Japanese character that really isn’t as important as he should be.

 

Plotting Points and a few Points of Interest

            What’s the big deal -since you have Godzilla starting in Japan and making his way to the United States? The idea is that 1954 Godzilla really occurred- we knew about him and tried to kill him before AND now in 2014, we really don’t know what we are doing when it comes to these monsters. There’s a serious tone that weaves its way throughout this movie. Godzilla is referred to as a god and a creature meant to dispense judgment and return balance to the world. You know what happened when they tried to bring balance to the force right? Same thing here. There’s a proper and huge build up before zillas arrival and many other scares besides being squashed by a giant foot. The movie breaks into three swinging arcs. The first, is the nuclear cover-up, the second is the military foot-soldier operation and the third is the big behemoth battle(s). It’s a fun ride with some great special effects and thankfully, we avoid the Transformers and The Avengers silliness of heroes helping civilians scramble to safety while the entire world is on the brink of destruction. We do get the big point about how family is important. It’s what puts the wheels in motion (on numerous levels) and that human concern and caring is the (true and only) reason mankind deserves to survive this new awakening.

 

Speaking of family, heavily overlooked is Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick Ass) playing bomb-specialist Ford Brody. He is the lead action star and carries the military aspect on his soldier shoulders. To be honest, it’s pretty misleading that he is NOT being shown as the main character in the trailers. In the end, Godzilla is a nice American version of the Japanese franchise and does the source material enough justice- so that there is room for sequels and still more Toho/Showa-created movies. Godzilla is back in a big way. This is a film worth seeing and it’s going to keep its high marks because I don’t expect a true Japanese-feeling Godzilla unless it’s made with Japanese sensibilities. This movie is actually what Cloverfield should have been.

 

A Bit More Zillaness

            As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, Godzilla movies live and die by the stuff between the fights. The tone of the movie is set by the human regard for Godzilla. If he’s seen from a kid’s perspective, then it’s a child-friendly movie and Godzilla is a hero for the kids. Godzilla has be portrayed as a moral statement about man’s destructive ways and his blatant disregard for the sanctity of nature. My overall favorite Godzilla movie is the 1968 Destroy All Monsters. It gives us a huge cast of Toho greats and the humans actually have important stuff to do throughout the movie. Add the sci-fi bend of aliens and rocket ships and you have a calamitous Kaiju cocktail.

 

A Kaiju Classic

Godzilla 2014 worked for me because I wasn’t anxious to see Godzilla or impatient with the human drama. I actually wished certain characters stuck around longer and had more to do. I enjoyed this formula and hope Toho releases the other monster licenses (one at a time) and we use a Dark Knight system, where the next bad-guy-introduction drives the franchise. I would like to see the next movie slide a bit more towards the east. I’m not a movie critic, I’m just critiquing a movie.

Movie Review The Last Days On Mars (2013)

The Last Days On Mars

 

Mission to Mars with Monsters – and I liked it

 

“The Last Days” for the mission….and the crew!

        I honesty don’t feel like writing a review for The Last Days On Mars, but I’m compelled to do so because the reviews on Amazon.com are so negative. There’s the ego aspect – where it becomes a matter of why anyone would care what I say about this movie. And then there’s the aspect of sharing a movie and hoping someone else sees it and enjoys a small gem that they might have otherwise missed. That’s why we’re here. I have recently seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier and really enjoyed it, but you don’t need a review from me to go see it. Everyone is going to see it — anyone with a passing interest in the superhero resurgence will…go…see…it. The Last Days On Mars deserves a push.

 

Marred Mars Mission

The plot involves a crew sent to Mars in search of life. It’s literally their last day on Mars when a sensor lead leads a history-grabbing team member to make a last-ditch effort to secure his place in history by recording the find first. The site is compromised and his infection sets off the major arc of the movie. As every reviewer has documented; this is essentially a zombie movie that takes place on Mars. As I stated in my review of Apollo 18, the hostile environment adds a new dimension to the perils that this crew must overcome in order to return home. It’s a crew on the brink versus an infected zombie force- verse the dangers of planetary exploration – you know, lack of breathable atmosphere and stuffs.

 

Ruairi Robinson (who I am not familiar with) directs Liev Schreiber (Sabertooth in X-Men Origins Wolverine and Ray Donovan, the TV series) as astronaut Vincent Cambell – he alone holds this movie together with his acting abilities and as the most fleshed out character. Some of the others have that writer’s crutch of a character that behaves, in a way, out of line with their supposed job title. Prometheus (reviewed here) suffers the same fate as you ask “Would a [insert the thing you are supposedly trained to do] act this way?” So a few points are lost as you scream at the screen You Idiot! followed by Serves you right! I mean, it’s a common plot-device to portray characters – so that you are okay with their deaths. They almost deserve it for being so stupid and making such dumb decisions. Maybe that’s okay for the horny teens or the inquisitive homeowner who hears a bump in the night, but for astronauts to slip up- it’s a tough sell. I mean, it’s what you were sent there for, why you trippin?

 

Mars in Motion Emotion

Despite that, there are a few emotionally gripping scenes where all the parts fit together nicely. It’s the music, plus the mayhem captured in a moment that makes this movie worth the memory. The soundtrack is used to solid effect as the backdrop support rises to epic proportions along with the climactic confrontations. Although I enjoyed this movie, it does suffer from not going hard in any direction. It’s not really about Mars-zombies so if you want to see the shambling-mumbling-brains, you’ll be disappointed. If you want the hard science of space operations and a realistic depiction of Mars exploration, well yeah, you’ll fall short. Well, what’s the big idea then? I don’t think there is one. There isn’t any big reveal like the end of Mission To Mars. There isn’t a single morality-heavy speech made by a character that underlies the thing you’re supposed to be taking home after the credits roll. Yes, we went to Mars in search of life, found it and things didn’t quite work out as we expected. Be careful: you may find what you are looking for. That’s the moral of the story.

 

If you can enjoy a sci-fi tale with a simple presentation, give The Last Days On Mars a chance. If you must have extremes to be satisfied, then I suggest flicks that put the zombies on the poster. This one had astronauts and that scene was pretty meaningful. I’m not a movie critic, I just critique movies.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross versus Robotech the Macross Saga

Robotech Versus Macross

The differences and what a difference they made to a long-time viewer.

 

 

Seeing the anime in its original form…

After, who knows how many years, I found a resource to watch Robotech: The Macross Saga in its original form; Super Dimension Fortress Macross. In 1985, three separate animated Japanese television series were translated, adapted and combined into a single franchise called Robotech. There are subtle changes and drastic, sweeping additions (and subtractions) that left me with the feeling that the true story is somewhere in the middle. I don’t care to debate which one is better, because I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to these things, but I see improvements in several areas for the American Robotech version. Since this discusses a few plot differences, prepare for spoilers if you’ve never seen either show or series.

 

Character Caricatures

 

Of course, all the names are switched and the main change is in the race/nationality of central characters Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes. Seeing him as Hikaru Ichijyo gives hints to a mixed-race make up. Some of the other names come as direct translations so no harm, no foul. Some prefer the original Roy Fokker and some see the latter’s version as more humane and understanding. Small changes in script can have a huge impact. In Robotech, there’s a scene (I’m assuming you’ve seen one of these stories already, if not SPOILER ALERT!) after Roy’s death that it’s noted Rick Hunter is going to be piloting Focker’s Skull Leader jet fighter. Claudia (his ‘widowed’ love interest) remarks that Roy would have liked that…. In the Macross subtitle her reaction reads simply as a questioning “that boy?” as if to question Rick Hunter’s worthiness or at its most subtle, lost-in-translation meaning, isn’t the same positive sentiment.

 

Just say it.

Japanese culture gives us love unrequited as the most common and fundamental state. Hey, characters never seem able to express their feelings, so you hang on and hang on hoping someone figures it out before it’s too late. Westerners love happy endings and Robotech takes the liberty of adding a few I LOVE YOU exclamations to lead to the happily ever after endings. In Macross, it’s more of a suggested ‘next’ and you are left to imagine where this thing is headed.

 

 

The Music, Mayhem and the Minmei Effect

 

Music plays a huge part in the saga and numerous scenes (action and dramatic) are heavily altered and changed in tone by the addition or subtraction of incidental music and thematic cues. Many scenes lost impact and fell short in Macross (that were thrilling and exciting in Robotech) due to silence or use of ambient music. The grand theme song for Robotech is a powerful symphonic piece that is used throughout the series to accent the action and I consider it a huge part of Robotech’s personality.

 

My western sensibilities also lean towards the Robotech version’s of Minmei’s songs. The rousing “We Will Win” by Reba West is simply incredible and the combination of music and action blend together seamlessly in the late episode “Force of Arms”. I just find that the wide range of moods are better captured with the newer material.

 

Cuts to the Chase

What about the diminished violence, sexual overtures and eliminated partial nudity? Censors went to work on Robotech- removing many scenes of death and animated violence. It is a show about war, isn’t it? A huge deal? No, not really. I already thought there was a lot of darkness and loss in Robotech so seeing a few extended clips in Macross doesn’t change the story for me. I do admit, seeing Macross certainly did smooth out some scenes, which felt a little clunky, as they repeated clips to fill in the gaps of the edited edgy material.  There is some admission of sexual attraction in Macross, which I wish could have stayed as it added a more human-dimension to some of the proto-culture shock and seemed like more realistic urgings for the Zentradi soldiers to be responding to.

 

Rendering Endings

And finally is the finale. Robotech gave us this big letdown as the bridge crew of the SDF-1 is killed in the final attack of Khyron. Even as a kid, I wasn’t feeling that. It’s explained that Admiral Gloval pushed Lisa Hayes into an ejection module right before impact. I understand the reasoning as you’d have to explain where everybody went once Dana’s Story starts the next Robotech Saga arc, but really, you could have said EVERYBODY left in the SDF-2. I still think that’s a bad writing move and it’s a joy to watch the original Macross and see everyone live.

 

Like I said in my opening paragraph, I feel like the true experience of Macross/Robotech is an imagined combination of both versions. I think no matter which one you feel is better, they are both important to the franchise and have done a great deal to spread and share the world of Macross. Mostly I wrote this for those who have only seen Robotech and I am urging them to go back and watch Macross.

 

Links of note:

KissAnime, where the original Macross can be streamed for free

http://kissanime.com/Anime/Macross/Episode-001?id=35455

 

 

 

Movie Review Gravity (2013)

Gravity (2013) Movie Review

 

It’s Mission to Mars…without the mission…or Mars….

I think it was before Elysium [read my review here] that I saw the trailer for Gravity and I thought: If this is the whole movie, then I don’t want to see it. Turns out- that was the whole movie and it’s still darn good. Alfonso Cuaron directs a story about survival and hope after space debris threatens a team of astronauts during a satellite repair operation. It stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as Matt Kowalski and Ryan Stone as the pair doing their best to survive despite incredibly long odds.

Space can be frightening without monsters or aliens.

Gravity features stunning special effects, camera angles and wonderful 3-D work. Although the movie works in 2-D, the cosmic peril of space missions is brought, literally, right before our eyes. On the surface, Gravity is about the lack of gravity and how important a force of nature it can be. If you want, Gravity is about two star actors in a minimal plot that sets up frightening scenario after frightening scenario. It’s a simple thing to hurl debris and metal parts at us until we dodge, bob and weave in our seats. It’s enough to make us gasp as fingers miss a hand hold or an object floats by- just out of range. Below that, Gravity is about the gravity that anchors us in place. It’s the force that holds our feet down and is the deciding factor between choosing to give up or carry on. This film represents a triumph in special effects and minimal storytelling. Gravity forgoes many of the space-movie tropes and clichés by bypassing common set ups and getting right to it- and sticking to it.

In the end, Gravity gives a big emotional push and left me a feeling of…glad I don’t have to be out there doing that and a greater appreciation for what NASA and it’s team of astronauts are doing and have already done. [On a wider, global level, to be honest] The next time you hear about a space walk or satellite repair, you’ll think about those daring few and view those grainy news clips differently. Nice ending line: You’ll appreciate the gravity of their situation and Gravity is a movie worth appreciating. I’m not a movie critic; I’m just critiquing a movie.

Movie Review After Earth 2013

 

After Earth 2013

A really good movie if you ignore who made and who is in it.

I’m kicking myself for being talked out of seeing this in theaters. I had no idea what it was about and was nervous because it was an M Night Shyamalan movie. What’s that got to do with anything? Well, Shyamalan is best known for The Sixth Sense (1999) which gave us a bend on the surprise ending no one saw coming. It’s a formula he repeated in movies like Signs (2002) and Lady in the Water (2006). Movies, where everything fits together, at the end, and you get to see all the little points along the way add up to a big finish. In my opinion Unbreakable (2000) is a classic and gives us the realest depiction of a super-hero without using a comic-based format, but includes every motif and cliché. See, movies like The Village (2004) and The Happening (2008) left many with questions about his continued ability to deliver at his highest potential. After all, Devil (2010) was another won’t-tell-you-the-plot-until-you-see-it and the curious pay off wasn’t as revealing as it could have been. Let’s just say we didn’t see the Saw [a reference to the 2004 horror flick] in this movie.

Will Smith presents another problem for potential movie-goers as his star power and box-office draw was super-high then. And so you expect another blockbuster- another big movie and wow, his son Jaden Smith co-stars, well, really stars. (The Karate Kid 2010 wasn’t as good as the original, but was way better than any of its sequels so….) I’m saying expectations may have been too high and perhaps another mysterious movie with a surprise ending may not be the best formula to run with.

Putting BOTH of them on the poster may not be the smartest thing

Proper Plots

Let’s cover what the movie is really about and get down for the set up. It’s far into the future and Earth has been lost to the self-inflicted wounds of environmental pollution. We flee to the stars and find ourselves in a war with aliens. Will Smith plays General Kitai Raige and during a space voyage, their transport is crippled and it’s up to not-yet-a-space-ranger Jaden (as Cypher Raige) to cross the dangerous landscape to reach help. Is Will Smith in the movie? Yes, and it’s not a goofy hologram or ghost, but the movie is the debut of a young action hero in the making. I can dig it. And I also see what the second problem is. You wanted Will Smith to be bounding over those rocks, facing peril and outlined against wondrous vistas. And maybe you wanted some kind of big message at the end or some sort of moral statement with all kinds of pretentious and righteous writer wit. No, you get the story of a father standing by and letting his son brave a new and hostile world. That’s true- for both the Raige and Smith families, for After Earth and Hollywood.

This accurately describes the movie

After the… Earth summary

Certainly it’s no spoiler to tell you -there is no big-surprise ending or twist and the movie flows and unfolds as expected. Yes, you can relax without worrying if M Night is going to ruin it in the last five minutes. If you have a family that might enjoy and sci-fi tale, this is a solid movie. If you expect…the expected movie from Will Smith + Shyamalan you will be, like many = disappointed. Me, I enjoyed it.

Movie Review: Riddick (2013)

Closer to Pitch Black in color and adds another chapter to the chronicle.

The true sequel to Pitch Black.

Pitching back Pitch Black

In 2000, director David Twohy and writers Jim and Ken Wheat gave us Pitch Black. It was the story of a crashed transport that stranded a colorful cast of characters on a barren wasteworld. Among them was Riddick; a dangerous criminal with a surgically-enhanced ability to see in the dark and Johns; the merc-bounty hunter determined the bring Riddick in. Survival of the fittest becomes the focus when the planet is found to be inhabited by dangerous creatures. This movie rose above the sum of its parts by having solid graphics (including the incredible opening crash sequence), well defined characters and a good script with enough pivotal moments and turns to keep us engaged. By the end of the movie, we wanted more Riddick and everyone would be left considering where does he go from here?

 

The Chronicles of Riddick sequel

The creative team reassembles to explore the Riddick character by upping his ‘racial profile’ and expanding the universe on the order of an invading army Helion-bent and Prime-d to conquer and cleanse every world they come across. It was a big departure and left-turn from the vibe and feel of Pitch Black, but still managed to be a solid sci-fi entry. You can say, by movies end, Riddick is placed at the top and there really is- nowhere else left to go.
Return to Riddick

So how do we create a third chapter and return to a tight character focus and leave the sweeping space saga behind? We do this by stripping down the man and getting back to the basics of what made him so engaging in his debut movie, Pitch Black.
Desert planet with abominable creatures? Check

Mixed cast plus expendables? Check

Riddick as the hunted turned hunter? Check

Escaping planet as final act? Check

David Twohy, the Wheat brothers, and screenplay writers Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell pay homage and give fans a treat by showing us more of the Riddick we came to like in Pitch Black. You’ll relive several similar scenes and set ups. It’s enough to give you déjà vu, but doesn’t hit rip-off levels.

The Beasts and the Bounties

For me, I knew my enjoyment level was centered on two questions. How cool are the new monsters and how memorable are the mercs. The monsters lack that Jaws effect because they are exposed early and you don’t really have that ‘wait for it’ build up of tension. Although the creatures are fearsome and numerous enough to warrant true peril whenever they hit the screen, I didn’t have that dread. The movie sagged and slowed in its middle so the monsters become welcomed saviors- literally. Katee Sackhoff [Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica] plays a similar type as Dahl and provides a lot of punch [literally] for this somewhat generic group of expendables. Thrown in are a few other point-at-the-screen-worthy actors playing previous versions of themselves, from other movies. It gives the writers a break in the character development area because you already know what this guy does when they show up in the movie.

The Mercenaries and the Monsters among them.

So we have the dynamic in place. Everyone hunting Riddick and Riddick hunting everyone, the hostile planet we gotta escape and a bunch of monsters trying to eat everything in sight. Is it good? Well yes, it’s another Pitch Black without some of the benefit of having firsts. You know, the first time you see the monsters, the introduction of the Riddick character, the prospect of the planet going dark for the hard-science heads among us. It lacks that sense of discovery and that’s fine for a sequel. Matter of fact that’s how this movie should be thought of. It’s the Pitch Black sequel that is a worthy follow up. And it has the appropriate last thought ‘where do we go from here?’ I hope David Twohy gets a chance to answer because I’m sure it will be interesting.

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