Baby Driver Review

Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast Headliners: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, others.
Original Release Date: June 28th, 2017

 Edgar Wright needs no introduction. Rather his style as a director is so distinct..from the buddy romps of the “Cornetto Trilogy” of Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz / The World's End to the incredibly snappy adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. He has a touch of hold mania in everything he does, so to have him create a new film is always an event. Baby Driver continues the tradition of unique, wild, hilarious and action packed films he has made in the past.

The outset and general theme of the film may seem to be generic, but in time it proves to be have many unique redeeming values. A gang of criminals robs banks and the sort with a getaway driver. This crew consists of our hero Baby (Ansel Elgort) and at various times a rotating roster of no-good doing but often likeable crooks including Buddy (Jon Hamm), Darling(Eliza Gonzalez), Bats(Jamie Foxx), and less present but additionally Griff(Jon Bernthal), No-Nose(Flea), and JD(Lanny Joon). They work for the criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey). Elsewhere in his life, Baby interacts with a mute roommate Joe (CJ Jones) and finds love in waitress Debora(Lily James).

It's both a large and intimate cast depending on the situation. The rotating group of robbers leaves some amiss such as Bernthal but everyone makes an impression across heists. In time the core Baby/Buddy/Darling/Bats dynamic becomes a great thing about the film, right up there with the best of Pegg / Frost in an American, criminal kind of way. Everyone , aided by snappy writing and usually clever humor, gives a great performance. Particularly Hamm, Foxx, and Spacey. The audience will fid themselves constantly jumping between cheering for, hating, and laughing along and with these interesting criminal characters through ferocity and charm. The dialogue delivery can be almost too punchy and stereotypical but that's a bit of the point one imagines. It just adds to the film's style.

The blend of style and performance ties directly into the hero in Baby. He's a great driver but doesn't talk much (one of a few comparisons to the 2011 film Drive...if that is an ice cube, this is a firecracker). An event in his youth left a ringing in his air and so he constantly listens to music to help him focus and balance things out. This is the first sign of the bland of music and happenings... Elgort was perhaps chosen more for his physical charisma than his charm, as he oddly dances around scenes in tune to his music. A t first this will surprise the viewer, and his standoffish personality may leave some distaste. But over time as the action ramps up, so too does it all make sense from Wright's approach..

This is a movie of a few relationships and interplays but a foremost one, and a place where Elgort succeeds as Baby moreso alongside Lily James as Debora, is the romance. There's (but not overbearing) several warm well done romance scenes that provide a good through line to the film. Their moments together are breaths of charming air in the mania and bleeds chemistry. This I the Scott Pilgrim influence coming through and succeeding.

What defines Baby Driver, because it happens so often, is the blend of action and music. The soundtrack is filled with a large variety of pop, rock, funk, etc songs that fit perfectly with where they are placed in a manner t make the Guardians of the Galaxy proud..and then some. More-so than that or others however is that they feed directly into the scenes more than not. Drums become cars crushing into each other. Gun shots become guitar riffs. It's a symphony of action and mania on many clever occasions.

Even on their own the action is incredible. There's plenty of it filled with twists and turns and excitement and blood. Snappy but not hard to keep track of in true Wright style. This cinematic craftsmanship carries into scenes...rotating cameras, close shooting and tracking etc.. it feels real yet surreal in a perfect wild blend.

Constant excitement comes from these musical action moments as well as the plot itself. The trailers appear to give away a lot but in actuality hide so many twists and turns. The plot has many layers, from silly to frantic to even some emotion. The ride runs a bit long and goes in some same strokes, but becomes even more and more worth it. This is best to go in with the blinders on. It will turn out better than expected for one,, and from surprising areas that constantly hide delights.

Edgar Wright has made another wild legend , among-st his best, with this film. The humor, director-ship, story, and uniqueness are high mark. Sometimes the jokes are too silly or it takes some mistakes with character use but these are minor. It's a wild fun film that's worth checking out and is a unique musical highlight of the year so far. 8.75 out of 10

Transformers: The Last Knight Review

Transformers: The Last Knight
Director: Michael Bay
Cast Headliners: Mark Wahlberg, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins, Isabella Moner, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, many , too many, others
Original Release Date: June 21st, 2017  

  Another couple years, anotherrrrr Transformers film. The ride never ends when these keep making money. But it seems the barrel has really started to be scrapped with this fifth installment with Transformers: The Last Knight. One knows what to expect by now, although this time its wilder than ever for good and bad. It's once again not boring..but that doesn't mean it's any good. Some highest of highs but the lowest possible lows of ever. Where does one even begin.
Much buzz had been made about the mania of the inclusion of King Arthur(Liam Garrigan), Merlin(A very stupidly drunk Stanley Tucci in lieu of his role from the 4th film), and historical / medieval elements. Like many elements of this movie, this is barely involved / pointless and a let down. One of many retcons to the lore is that apparently transformers have been actively involved in the affairs of humanity for all of their history (lol). Merlin had a mechanical staff for his magic that has been lost for ages.
Picking up in the present the world once again (as has happened many times in this franchise) has its stakes changed after the various events of the past few Transformers films. The cast is mainly new, again , from the human side. Cade Yeager(Mark Wahlberg) and autobot Bumblebee (Erik Aadahl)   very randomly make the loose acquaintance of a young orphan girl named Izabella (Isabella Moner) and her bot Sqweeks in the ruins of Chicago. Proceeding back to their home wacky junkyard of side characters they are joined by allies including the memorable Age Of Extinction stereotype autobots Drift(Ken Watanabe), Hound(John Goodman), Crosshairs(John DiMaggio) amongst little seen and less memorable allies like dinosaurs including Grimlock and merchant Daytrader (Steve Buscemi giving at least a Big Lebowski reunion) and the annoying assistant mechanic Jimmy(Jerrod Carmichael).
For some reason even though the Autobots have proven to be nobler than than the Deceptions for many years and films now the US Government has formed the TRF anti-transformer force led by some silly characters (Tony Hale appears as a scientist with some ok jokes) and the return of soldier Lennox (Josh Duhamel). Using their own army of non-transformer robots , walkers, drones, and soldiers they attempt to chase down Markey Mark's Cade and friends. Stupidly, they even temporarily ally with the (once again..what happened to Galvatron/look? The lore is ruined by this point beyond even the X-Men timeline) return of the Decepticons in Megatron (Frank Welker here), who has a new look and a ripoff of the Suicide Squad (who get name cards and music.in front of a crew of literal lawyers..grr... then fade away shortly after).
This doesn't even describe the even further mess of factions present. In Britain, an eccentric member of the “Witwiccan Order:”Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) and his bot allies Cogman(Jim Carter) and Hot Rod (Omary Sy) recruit the aid of historian Vivian (Laura Haddock) to solve the mystery of Merlin's staff.  They later fold in the USA characters for an “epic” journey. Elsewhere still, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen)'s cliffhanger from the last movie in space reaches a whimper of a conclusion as he crash lands on Cybertron and is corrupted by his apparent creator the robotic demonic goddess Quintessa (Gemma Chan) as she prepares to collide her planet with Earth. In Cuba, the return of Simmons(John Turturro) literally phones in a cameo and some “humor” after being absent from the fourth film. Even Shia LaBeouf's fate is addressed and cameos this time. Although these elements are not enough to bring back a lost fan if they had left prior to this point.
It's a lot of characters, locations, and places to keep track of  to a level even more overwhelming than ever before in a series that has done so.  Very few elements stick out from this messy yet awesome mess. While Wahlberg's Cade is even more manical and lame than AoE he does have some decent chemistry and interaction with the ok charm and vigor of Haddock's Vivian. For all of the marketing material implying that Moner's Izabella was a main character she appears in barely any of the movie and annoys more than anything when she is present at all. A  zany, odd highlight are the characters surrounding Sir Edmund. It's in a way sad to see the legendary Hopkins choose a role like this and a lot of his lines are cringeworthy. But he also has a manic, zany sense to him that one can tell he had fun doing this role as he does with stupid passion. Carter's Cogman and him are the true pair of chemistry in the film. Cogman is cool, funny, and great.. a sort of C-3PO / K2SO from Star Wars though not as great. Too many swears as ever. The various Autobots and Decepticons give alright voiced performances but fade into the manic fast movie tapestry. Duhamel does litle more than shout orders either, although isnt that what he always did.
A  semi major dissapointment of the movie is Optimus Prime. The series has never really decided whether he should be featured as a leader, a protagonist, or cameo. Its no surprise that him being a villian is not handleed well either. He is barely in it either, his “evil acts” aren't even that destructive with one exception. The lore with him and Quintessa is interestig but also breaks conventions previously established. It's a neat idea but in the end done wrong. Just about anything with lore in the movie can be thought of as such, with a random World War 2 flasbback not adding much to the plot aside setting up no doubt future spinoffs of “transformers across history”
The characters..mostly bad. The humor... occasionally funny, often stupid. The lore and backstory, mostly ruined. The plot, long , often stupid and confusing, and messier than ever. However there are some true redeeming qualities. The mania of puzzle pieces won't leave one bored and laughing in a likely unintended way brings cheesy charm to the movie. The music is lush (although jarringlt mocked at one point in a meta way) and the visuals are mostly great. There's some truly nice visual shots and effects of robotic beings. Yet also, there is just as many or more times where effects are obvious as well..it's a mixed bag. Action is epic in stakes and scale yet confusing. Although sometimes one has to appreciate the explosion mania Michael Bay has going on his directing, as ever.  Although the line between impressive and headache indusing spectacle is an ever thinner one.
This movie takes the previously established characters, lore, and conventions that were already in a blender...and blends them again. New elements are mostly cheesy or pointless, but some things are alright. It's a very bad film, perhaps the lowest quality of the franchise. Yet if one is completely bored, or liked previous entries in the franchise, it somehow still mananges to have some silly redeeming value. Only some... 6 out of 10

Captain Underpants: The Epic First Movie Review

Captain Underpants: The Epic First Movie
Director: David Soren
Cast Headliners: Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Nick Kroll, Jordan Peele
Original Release Date: June 2nd, 2017
Seen: Late June 2017

Who didn't read the Captain Underpants series back in the day. It was a staple of late 90s/early to mid 00s elementary and middle schools. It was juvenile, it was silly, and it was full of a lot of charm across author Dav Pilkey's sequels, spinoffs,  and similar works. It is surprising that it has taken this long to get an animated movie but the wait is mostly highly worth it. With a title like “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” one perhaps expects and hopes for more in the future.

The movie , greatly looking with the first of many animation styles (director David Soren of Dreamworks nicely weaves between living comic sketchings, a nice 3d CGI look, even “flip-o-rama” and live sock puppet action) gives the fictional story of what Captain Underpants is. He is a wacky comic book character made by elementary school students George(Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch). Their imagination is as much as their love for pranks which is much to the ire of those like principal Mr.Krupp (Ed Helms) or bully-nerd Melvin Sneedly (Jordan Peele). There is also the villainous science replacment teacher Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll). A lunch lady Edith (Kristen Schaal) also gets some funny and sweet moments between some unnamed staff. It's a small cast of named characters, but that's fine enough when they are memorable. 

It turns out that the boy's have a magic ring that make Principal Krupp actually believe he is Captain Underpants from their confiscated comics. Helms is great as both the mean Krupp, the babylike yet stereotypically manly / superheroic Underpants, and some fun disguises / other moments. He is adaptable as both and is almost unrecognizable (as he was also solid in The Lorax). Sometimes he darts between the two different roles within moments and it is handled well with charm.  The child characters are funny as well. It's amazing how Hart, Middleditch, and Peele are also unrecognizable and sound just (aside their age-gravelynes of course) like children. Their performance and enthusiasm make it all believable for laughs and wit.   Kroll's Professor P is a generic villain but that's the point  and it gives him the chance to deliver some cheesy lines in a German accent. For readers of the book, they all feel right off the page and for newcomers they're charming / hateable.

The humor is silly and childish but that's the point as well. It will make a kid, adult, or anyone with  a sense of dumb humor laugh. Things happen snappily and quickly. The plot is as simple as can be and almost flows too quickly but it's an excuse to deliver lighthearted charm and wild happenings. The music was partially composed by Weird Al Yankovic and fits well to match the sugar pop colorful visuals. 

There's not much else to this aside some surprising moments of deeper feels and emotion. For fans, they will like the adaptation and some “lore cameos” to the book series (the movie is mostly an adaptation of the first few books with some other call outs) and the capturing the literal toilet humor and schoolyard fun. Non-fans, or those with families and heck even animation fans of all ages will like this breezy wild adventure. It's perhaps a bit too short, simple and fast happening, but it's very sweet. 7.85 out of 10

Wonder Woman Review

Wonder Woman
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast Headliners: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielson,  David Thewlis, Danny Huston, others
 Original Release Date: June 2nd, 2017


Finally after all these years several important marks are made in this film. The first Wonder Woman movie ever in the big screens. The first (to summarize this review) good quality female led superhero movie. It's also the first time DC Comics has a solo, flashback origin movie in the DCEU since Man of Steel's starting it. Wonder Woman does well in most regards and the fact that it is anything but a wreck is something to be celebrated as there were those risk factors either unproven or with poor precedence. This movie is a mix of unique and tropes but the combo makes for mostly fun.
The main arc of the film takes us back to what could be any amount of time to the land of the Amazons on the “paradise island” of Themyscira. The young daughter of the queen gets into various hi-jinks and learns of the lore of this all female  society. This opening portion has some nice colorful visuals but drags on for a bit of awhile and packs the first of many cheesy moments in the film. But how can one not have some cheese when it comes to a mix of pulp , history, and myth in one. There is a standout, painterly sequence where the tale of the fascinating background lore of Ares, Zeus, and the other gods is told.
After some more training an older Diana , as she is known, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) finds her world turned upside down when a  American/ British spy in Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash lands on the island on the heels of a German army. This is about the last we see of a decent performance in aunt Antiope (Robin Wright, always fierce) and her mother queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen, less memorable but also decent). Events transpire to where instead Wonder Woman ends up in the world of the rest of humankind and World War 1.
Here is where the true movie starts both in plot and quality. World War 1 may at first seem like a basic setting (and one of several influences from competitor's 2011 Captain America 1 and even Thor 1 in its fish out of waterness) but it ends up proving its worth. The movie is a fine period piece, with nice background visuals and costuming and feel. This makes it perhaps the most visually distinct film in the DCEU yet for uniqueness.
Whether it be in action, drama, or humor one of the most memorable highlights of the film is Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. This was already seen in 2016's Batman Vs Superman but here it is aided moreso but the “origin aspect” as she is more naive both in grounds for character growth as well as some good humor in learning the ways of WW1 Britain . Although her accent gives a stark contrast to most of her co-stars it works considering her homeland, fictionally that is. It does not hinder the several , emotional scenes she has whether confrontational or impassioned. In action, she is sleek and cool looking... the iconic warrior as ever. She doesn't need to talk much, as she carries a presence with her in all occasions much like the best work of one such as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Her co-stars are also very solid. Chris Pine is great as Steve Trevor. He brings all of the charisma, swagger, humor, and well meaning as he does in a role like Captain Kirk in the new Star Treks with perhaps a new level of coolness. The “soldier squad”, often a trope of these kinds of movies is slightly extra memorable whether its the charming actor Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), manic sniper Charlie (Ewan Bremner), and the chilled out smuggler Chief (Eugene Brave Rock). The chemistry between heroes is great, particularly between Gadot and Pine. Worth mentioning as well is the brief appearances by assistant Etta Candy (Lucy Davis) who brings some quirky humor. David Thewlis is also great in his role as Sir Patrick Morgan, with some good speeches and an important role that should be seen firsthand as the mostly enticing plot unfolds.
The villains are mostly generic German and some Ottoman soldiers but they are led by some memorable antagonists. There's the odd and vile Dr.Poison (Elena Anaya) and the stoic, if a bit (although not without merit) cartoonishly evil General Ludendorff(Danny Huston). These opponents are typical but effective. Ares may also appear at some point, and when he does his role is fearsome and epic..although that too should be seen firsthand for full effect.
This is actually only the second theatrical film by director Patty Jenkins. Which is surprising, because she has a talent for excitement. For the most part the action is frenetic and plentiful. Special effects at times make things seem right out of the comic panels with vibrant color and crazy movement in a manner much like Snyder although at times more grounded. Select slow motion adds to the importance of scenes. However, the main negative aspect of this movie is that sometimes the slow-down is NOT a plus. Exciting moments will be either disrupted in their midst or subsequently ruined by something that's either too slow or (in one circumstance) too fast in speed. These add to the cheese amongst other things that suspend disbelief in even a comic film.  However these moments do not bring the whole experience down and are in the semi-minority.
Overall this movie offers a fun, exciting , and at times darkly emotional and epic origin story for Wonder Woman. It looks and moves nicely in its high points aide from some weaker or trope-ish portions. The importance of fhis film should be noticed though and that aspect makes things in a way even more enjoyable., Wonder Woman brings a majesty and glory to the war front with her, and one should enjoy these battles in this tale.. and hopes for even better battles ahead. 8 out of 10

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Director: Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg
Cast Headliners: Johnny Depp, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelaro, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, several others
Original Release Date: May 26th, 2017

                It’s an interesting feeling. On one hand, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (the franchise’s fifth installment) is the first one in about 6 years which makes it feel long wanted. Yet also as it is the fifth time around the block, and after rapidly releasing sequels, it feels similar in other ways.  However the combination of these two factors answer the argument well for why there should be another one. It’s a bit silly, very fun, swashbuckling time that ties together all of the films to date and brings in some fresh new tweaks to the familiar formula.

                The main arc of the movie picks up years after the 2011’s On Stranger Tides. Through various vignettes we are introduced to the film’s main heroes. There’s the newer stars in the son of Will Turner grown into an adventurous young man in Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and his love/hate ally Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) the scientist.  Then of course, rounding out the trio is the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) who finds himself in the midst of pirating shenanigans with a crew that continues to lose faith in him.

                Against him, there’s a fearsome foe in the (almost titular) Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem). He and his crew, accomplished through gorgeously spooky special CGI special effects in their chopped-to-bits-ness, are ghost pirates who are cursed by a flashback event (including a less convincing CGI Depp) by the efforts of Jack Sparrow. He seeks revenge as the heroes race to find the legendary “Trident of Poseidon” while dealing with the typical multitudes of side plots and characters.  Bardem is a great villain as Salazar. Salazar acts and looks fearsome yet also has a sympathetic side to him. Much like Davy Jones before him (and perhaps surpassing Blackbeard via this nuance) his presence is a rogue factor that lights up the screen. Bardem gave it his all and his a solid highlight of the cast, as are his kooky ghastly crew members.
                The aforementioned other characters are… numerous.  The humor of this film is for the most part in high form though often goes for sillier than ever (especially for Depp’s Sparrow). This most often comes from the delight of his own classic crew of pirates above the “Dying Gull” pathetic ship. This includes the bearded Gibbs(Kevin McNally), the newer addition from On Stranger Tide’s Scrum (Stephen Graham), and the little person Marty (Martin Klebba). The movie really builds on the relationship and plot points of past films for effective writing and humor (it helps to have seen others but it does stand alone in its fun). Everyone gets, as typical for this franchise, a small moment to shine. There’s other characters like the British aligned Lieutenant Scarfield (David Wenham) and the witch Shansa(Golshifteh Farahani) but these never come across as more than generic evil and get (sometimes literally) lost in the flow. Paul McCartney even makes a silly but alright glorified cameo as “Uncle Jack” that is worth it to those who knew.  He had to keep up with the Rolling Stones somehow apparently.

                When it comes to the main cast, they are effective. Thwaite’s Henry is very much like his farther, warm and brave. Scodelario’s Carina matches the similar content and leagues of her past heroines whilst perhaps having more humor and charm than some films in the franchise. Even THE Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Turner (Keira Knightley) show up again which really serves to tie the franchise together although their appearances must be seen firsthand as to why.  Johnny Depp brings the laughs, the swagger, and all of what we would expect as Jack Sparrow and he is a constant delight. Although, and this has been an increasing problem with each installment, he at times is a constantly drunker than ever cartoonish outline of his character who just kind of seems “to be along for the ride”. But the movie around him has the fun to make it work. One wouldn’t want him to not be in these in some way. Barbarossa(Geoffrey Rush) also shows up as now a pirate king of the sea, another instance really tying the series together. Rush is great, as always, at times unlikeable but also at times the most likeable of all. See this to find out way.

                The fun comes in droves via the plentiful action and spectacle. While some CGI effects are obvious, some action goes on too long (and of course the movie is a two plus hour epic but it never feels too wasted), and there are some questionable ridiculous moments the audience will be often smiling. There’s the lush music and scenery. There’s the constant “na-nah-nah” franchise theme that maybe gets used too much but also how could one not enjoy the views. The action is really more over the top than ever and in its madness it’s kind of glorious.

                Overall, it has its problems as a general film but has its strengths as a POTC movie. It’s a sunny, sometimes dark, usually funny and exciting blockbuster. The ties to the past and character growth make it stand out as one of the better if not best entries. This is said to possibly be the last in the series, which in one way would work. But also, it leaves one hopeful for the new heroes and setup for the future..stay after the credits. Either way, a 7.8 out of 10