It's Jet Li vs. Jason Statham in War, an exciting martial arts action film. An FBI agent out for revenge pursues a notorious assassin named Rogue who's come to San Francisco to instigate a war between the Triads and the Yakuza. The storytelling is rather good, especially in creating suspense and intrigue. And, the fight sequences are particularly impressive. However, the characters aren't given much depth and seem more like stereotypes. While War is pretty much a typical revenge film, it's entertaining and has a good cast.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is brought to the big screen in this most unusual adaptation. Shot as a contemporary play, a theater troop drives out into the Israeli desert and proceeds to put on a production of the Gospel Story. There are no real sets as it's all shot on location, and the costumes bare all of the trademarks of '70s fashion (from bell bottom pants to rose tinted sunglasses). And, there's a little bit of disco in the choreography. Yet this all ends up giving the film a bombastic energy that's a lot of fun. Plus, the music is incredibly catchy and has a lighthearted humor to it. Though it's a bit dated, Jesus Christ Superstar presents a unique vision and has a sort of kitschiness that makes it tremendously entertaining.
Ocean's crew reunites for one last con in Ocean's Thirteen. When one of their own gets scammed by a casino developer Danny Ocean puts the team back together in order to get payback, and to set things right. The story's fairly strong, and the Las Vegas setting returns the series to its roots. Still, the con's a little incoherent and the plot has some extraneous parts. Most of the cast from the previous films return, and are joined by Al Pacino; who makes for a terrific villain. Ocean's Thirteen is an improvement over the last film, but it's not as good as the original.
Jack Lemmon and James Garner star in the hilarious political satire My Fellow Americans. After narrowly escaping an assassination attempt former presidents and bitter rivals Kramer and Douglas team-up in order to expose a plot to cover-up a breaking political scandal. Lemmon and Garner are really good together and have great comedic chemistry. And the comedy is especially well-written, taking jabs at both political parties and lampooning modern political figures like Bill Clinton, Dan Quayle, and George Bush. Yet, at times the humor can get a little too silly and slapstick-ish. My Fellow Americans has some problems, but it's fun and delivers a lot of laughs.
Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in the hysterical '80s comedy The Money Pit. The story follows a couple that buys a house together, and while at first they think it's a steal the place turns out to be a real fixer upper and tests their relationship. Hanks and Long are great together and give excellent performances. The comedy is also extraordinarily good and delivers some clever satire. Produced by Steven Spielberg, The Money Pit is a smart family film that's full of laughs.
Joe Dante turns the Gremlins into f***ing clown shoes in the atrocious sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. This time the film is all satire and goofiness...and no horror. The Gremlin designs are cartoonish and fake looking, lacking any sense of danger or terror. The performances are also pathetic, and don't even work in a campy, satirical way. And worst of all, the film tries to be meta, but it all falls flat. It's almost as if Gremlins 2: The New Batch was intended to undermine and lampoon the series, which it succeeds at brilliantly.
The Will Ferrell screwball comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is outrageously funny. Set in the '70s, the story follows a San Diego news anchor name Ron Burgundy who's at the top of his game, but his world is shaken when a spunky, headstrong female report joins the station's news team. Aside from Ferrell, the film stars Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn, and Paul Rudd; who all deliver great performances that really makes the comedy work. Additionally, there's some hilarious spoofing of '70s American pop-culture. A better comedy than it has any right to be, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a lot of fun.
Based on the popular book series, The Maze Runner is an intense and suspenseful thriller. The story follows a group of young boys that find themselves wiped of their memories and sent into the center of a giant maze that's constantly changing. What the maze is and why the boys have been placed there is an enticing mystery, and the writing does an impressive job at setting up this world and creating intrigue. Additionally, the performances are fairly good, and the costumes and set designs have an interesting look and feel. However, there are some problems with the storytelling, as it seems a bit rushed at times with some random elements thrown in to add ambiguity. Though it's a little weak on story, The Maze Runner is an entertaining and exciting adventure.
A rote B-movie, Hunter Killer is a fairly entertaining yet mediocre action film. When a US submarine is sunk in Russian waters while conducting an exercise an emergency mission is launched to investigate and discovers that a rogue element in the Russian military is attempting to cease power and start a war. Starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, and Linda Cardellini, the film has a solid cast; however, their performances are rather weak. The writing isn’t very good either, as the plot is pretty outlandish and the dialog is kind of cheesy. And the CGI, though not bad, really sticks out and doesn’t blend well with the live-action scenes. Still, there are some exciting and intense action sequences. Hunter Killer has its moments, but it’s too ambitious for its own good.
Brian De Palma brings Mission: Impossible to the big screen in an explosive and action-packed adventure. Branded a trader when his team is killed during an intelligence operation, IMF agent Ethan Hunt goes rogue in order to clear his name. The plot's rather good, and does a fair job at building suspense and intrigue. Starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, and Ving Rhames, the casting’s pretty solid. And, the action sequences are shot especially well, adding a lot of energy and intensity to the film. Danny Elfman's score is also excellently done. Incredibly entertaining, Mission: Impossible is a fun and thrilling action film.
Mission: Impossible gets Wooed in this second installment of the franchise. Director John Woo takes the helm and ups the action to the point of nauseum. And, there's so much identity switching and uses of masks that this might as well have been called Face/Off 2. Tom Cruise is also a problem, as he makes it all about his character and showing off his action moves (to the detriment of the film). The style over substance focus even extends to Limp Bizkit's cover of the Mission: Impossible Theme, which is just noise. Still, a lot of the action sequences are impressive and shot well. For a mindless action film, Mission: Impossible II is alright, but it's a disappointing entry into the series.
The fifth installment of the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation delivers an exciting, adrenaline-packed adventure. After the IMF is disbanded secret agent Ethan Hunt goes rogue in order to complete one last mission to expose a criminal syndicate of former spies turned mercenaries. Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg return, and are joined by Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin. And their performances are pretty good; particularly Ferguson, whose stunt work and fight scenes are especially well-done. Director Christopher McQuarrie also does an impressive job, and brings a lot of suspense and tension to the action sequences. Thoroughly entertaining, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is an explosive spy thriller.
Luc Besson's The Transporter is adapted for the small screen as a weekly action-adventure television series. Season 1 is presented as a continuation of the films, but is reworked to give courier Frank Martin a team in the form of a private mechanic to fix his cars and an agent to vet his jobs and handle the clients. However, this proves problematic and causes some unevenness, as the characters are always doing separate things and don't really work as a team. And the plots are extremely formulaic, with the job often going wrong, forcing Frank to turn on the client in order to do what's right. There's also an over-arcing plot throughout several episodes about a mysterious women who spies on Frank and tracks his movements. Chris Vance gets behind the wheel as Frank Martin, and while he's fairly good with the action scenes, he doesn't have much charisma and seems miscast. In fact most of the acting is poor, as is the directing. And for some strange reason gratuitous nudity shots are randomly worked into most of the episodes. Season 1 of Transporter: The Series is incredibly clichéd and mediocre, and fails to capture the fun and excitement of the films.
U-571 is a thrilling and powerful war film from writer/director Jonathan Mostow. The story follows the crew of a US Navy submarine that is sent on a secret mission to recover an Enigma decoder from a disabled German U-boat. Starring Matthew McConaugey, Harvey Keitel, and Bill Paxton, the film has a strong cast. The writing is also rather good, and does an excellent job at creating suspenseful and intense battle scenes. Additionally, the directing is impressive and brings a lot of energy and excitement to the film. Well-crafted, U-571 is action packed and delivers an incredible high-seas adventure.
Clearly out of ideas, Jurassic Park III tries to keep the franchise alive with cheap comedy and mindless action. In this installment the story returns to Dr. Alan Grant, who is recruited to go back to the Jurassic Park islands to rescue a child who has been accidentally stranded there during a parasailing accident. But before long, the film devolves into a creature feature; with random chases and meaningless dinosaur fights. And while some of the action is exciting, the insipid and lazy writing shines through and draws attention to the numerous plot holes. Good for a few thrills, Jurassic Park III is dumb fun at best.
"Welcome to Jurassic Park." Director Steven Spielberg was the perfect directing choice to bring this Michael Crichton scientific thriller to life. In perfect Spielbergian style the film teases out the dinosaur park for the first act, then kicks into a full throttle action/adventure. Sam Neill, Richard Attenborough, and Jeff Goldblum all give outstanding performances that draw in the audience. But, what stands out most are the amazing special effects. The dinosaurs are both breathtaking and terrifying; capturing everything that we find fascinating about them. And, John Williams' score brilliantly embodies the majesty and excitement of the material. A wonderful piece of filmmaking, Jurassic Park inspires the imagination.
Richard Kelly's Southland Tales is an insanely bizarre and macabre film with Lynchian undertones. An actor named Boxer Santaros goes on a ride-along with a LAPD cop to research a screenplay that he's writing, but events lead Santaros to believe that his screenplay isn't as fictional as he thought and that reality isn't what it seems. The plot is incoherent; full of meaningless tangents that go nowhere and that don't service the main storyline. However, the film is given a certain level of charisma by all of the rich and interesting characters. Additionally, the casting is exceptional, featuring Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake. But, Kelly's ultraliberal political agenda hijacks the film and makes a mess out of everything. Though there are moments of brilliance, Southland Tales tries to do too many things and ends up doing none of them well.
From writer/director Roland Emmerich comes the exciting sci-fi adventure Independence Day. In the aftermath of a surprise alien attack a ragtag group of military forces and civilians band together to fight back. Starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Randy Quaid, the film has a talented cast that gives some good performances. And, the special effects are especially well-done; delivering incredible battle sequences. Additionally, the storytelling is remarkably efficient, and does an impressive job at introducing the characters and moving the plot forward. Still, there are a lot of contrivances and leaps in logic in order to make the story work. And, there are stereotypes aplenty; from the stripper with a heart of gold, to the mad scientist, to the warmongering military commander. But regardless of its problems, Independence Day is tremendously fun and entertaining.
Beirut is an exciting political thriller that’s full of intrigue. The story follows a former US diplomat who’s recruited by the CIA to negotiate a hostage exchange in Beirut, but when internal politics get in the way he’s forced to go outsider of official channels to save the hostage. Starring Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, and Mark Pellegrino, the film has a pretty strong cast. And it does a good job at creating tension and suspense. Also, the costumes and sets are especially well-done, creating an authentic look and feel for the time period. However, it can be a little confusing to follow the different political factions and the deals and trades being made. Yet despite a few script problems, Beirut is an intense and gripping drama.
"Sometimes dead is better." Based on the bestselling Stephen King novel, Pet Sematary is a frightening horror film. The story follows a family that discovers a Pet Cemetery behind their back yard that has mystical properties, which if used, comes with a terrible price. The directing is especially good and brings an impressive amount of tension and suspense to the film. However, there are a few storytelling issues and some of the acting is weak. A faithful adaptation of Stephen King's terrifying thriller, Pet Sematary delivers some chilling scares.
Jigsaw is back (or is he) in this latest installment of the Saw franchise. When a police informant claims that a new Jigsaw game is underway and bodies start coming in the police find themselves in a race against time to find out who’s running the game and save the captives. Featuring Callum Keith Rennie, Laura Vandervoort, and Tobin Bell, the cast is pretty decent. However, the story kind of muddles up the chronology of the series (making it even more convoluted). Yet the mystery of who’s the new Jigsaw, and the subsequent investigation are fairly intriguing. But what really counts in a Saw film are the traps, and a couple of these are rather clever (others are ridiculously complicated). A mediocre entry in the franchise, Jigsaw more or less follows the series formula and delivers what one would expect.
Logan takes a giant sh** on the X-Man franchise, destroying everything fans have come to enjoy. Set in a distant future where mutants are nearly extinct Logan works as a part-time limo driver caring for a mentally ill Charles Xavier, until a nurse informs him of a secret government program that’s genetically engineering new mutants and seeks his help in getting one of them, a little girl, to a safe haven in Canada. The film completely undoes everything Days of Future Past did (which was to create a better, more hopeful future), and presents a rather nihilistic view where nothing the X-Men did amounted to anything. The action scenes are really good, and take advantage of the R rating by not holding back on the blood and violence. And Hugh Jackman gives one of his best performances of the series. But Logan is just too dark and gritty, there’s no fun to it and it casts a shadow over the whole franchise.
Captain Jack Sparrow sails the high seas in search of adventure once again in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. When Will Turner’s son Henry goes looking for a way to end his father’s curse he teams up with Jack Sparrow to find Poseidon’s Trident, but an old advisory is soon awakened and seeks revenge on Sparrow. Johnny Depp is excellent as always, and brings a lot of charisma to the film. However, Javier Bardem makes for a rather weak villain (perhaps the weakest of the series). And the special effects for the dead crew are incredible poor. There are also some continuity errors with the previous films that are a bit irksome. Still, the action sequences are fun; full of swashbuckling sword fights and thrilling chases. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is an entertaining ride, but it struggles to deliver something fresh and exciting.
Evil comes home in the horror thriller Annabelle: Creation. The story follows a group of orphaned girls who are taken in by an elderly couple, and before long the girls awaken a demonic spirit that attempts to possess them. The pacing is a little slow until the last act, which then ratchets up the tension and suspense, building to a terrifying climax. And while it follows the series formula, it still does a pretty good job at delivering frightening shocks and scares. Also, the writers are able to work the plot into the larger Conjuring continuity surprising well (avoiding a lot of pitfalls that prequels usually run into). While it has some pacing issues and contradicts some of the previous mythology, Annabelle: Creation is a solid entry into the series.
Based on Stephen King’s seminal horror novel, It is a chilling monster movie. The story follows a group of school kids who band together to combat an ancient evil that masquerades as a clown in order to lure children to their deaths. It’s a rather loose adaptation that only covers part of the novel and attempts to modernize it. And in this it's partly successful; in that it creates a nostalgic 1980s horror tone. However, Bill Skarsgard, while doing a fair job at playing Pennywise (aka the clown), pales in comparison to Tim Curry and is really only here to provide jump scares; as the character isn't developed much beyond that. Still, the scares are pretty well-done and are full of suspense. While It is a fairly solid horror film, it’s a bit underwhelming and doesn’t quite live up to the novel’s reputation.
The crew of the Milano get into more wild and crazy adventures in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. After a job gone wrong the Guardians end up on the run from the Sovereign and are rescued by a celestial being named Ego who claims to be Peter Quill’s real father and takes him to his home world so the two can reconnect, however Gamora suspect that Ego isn’t telling them the whole truth; meanwhile Rocket and Groot fend off an attack by the Ravagers. Kurt Russell joins the cast and delivers a really good performance. And there are a dozen of fun cameos and Easter eggs that fans are sure to enjoy. Additionally, director James Gunn keeps the tone lighthearted, just like the first film, and the action is incredibly exciting. The soundtrack is also especially well-done and does a good job at complimenting the scenes. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of the original, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a solid sequel that’s extremely entertaining.
The Fast and Furious franchise begins a new phase with The Fate of the Furious, an explosive high-adrenaline action film. When an international terrorist blackmails Dom he’s forced to turn on his team, leading them to hunt him down as he carries out a series of attacks. Charlize Theron joins the cast, but proves to be a fairly stereotypical and disappointing villain. However, Jason Statham’s switch to being on the good guys team works especially well and allows Statham to shine (doing some extraordinary fight scenes). Still, the writing is really bad; full of ridiculous leaps in logic and tired clichés. Yet the car chases are incredibly fun and exciting. The Fate of the Furious is kind of a mess, but it’s an entertaining one.
Widely considered one of the worst seasons of any Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager’s shaky start gets a little rockier in Season 2 as the show continues to stumble. The writers still haven’t figured out what they want the show to be and end up trying to force it into a TNG structure; to the point of turning the main alien antagonists (the Kazon) into bad Klingon rip-offs and calling TNG cast members to the rescue with Lt. Barclay and Q episodes. Still, there are a couple of good episodes here and there, and an interesting story-arc about a crewmember who turns trader. But then there are episodes like “Threshold”; which many fans rank as the worst of the series and some even consider to be non-canon. Incredibly uneven, Season 2 of Star Trek: Voyager is barely mediocre and gets by mainly on good will.
"You thought this was gonna be a street fight? You're goddamn right it is!" Exciting and action-packed, Furious Seven delivers an over-the-top, supercharged adventure. When rogue mercenary Deckard Shaw comes after Dominic Toretto and his crew they seek the help of a shadow government agency in order to get the upper hand. Jason Statham and Kurt Russell join the series and deliver strong performances. And the action scenes are insane, featuring some unbelievable stunts. Additionally, the film does a good job at handling the death of Paul Walker, and gives his character a nice send off. Furious Seven is a little silly and goes off the rails at times, but it's still wildly entertaining and incredibly fun.
A Private War is gritty and raw character drama about Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin. The film follows the last ten years of Colvin’s life reporting on conflicts in Sri Lonka, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, along with her struggles with PTSD and substance abuse. Rosamund Pike gives an incredible performance, really transforming herself into her character. However, the script is rather weak and doesn’t do a particularly good job at getting at what drove her to do the work she did, or chose the places she did, or what made her voice unique from others. Yet while it has some weaknesses, A Private War is a powerful and provocative film about the life of a war correspondent.
