Creed II Review

Creed II

Director: Steven Caple Jr

Cast Headliners: Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Tessa Thompson

Original Release Date: November 21st, 2018

  The Rocky film series is one of the most iconic of all time. Perhaps its the only boxing and even sports “saga” in existence. Over decades an epic generational tale has been told of the Italian Stallion and his friends, family, and rivals. It's taken various breaks and gone through changes but 2015's Creed was a really good way of being both a reboot and legacy as Apollo's son was trained by Rocky. Creed 2, the eighth overall installment, acts as both a sequel to that but also in a way to Rocky 4 due to a certain soviet involvement. Due to Stallone claiming that this the end of his time as Rocky this may or may not mark the end of the series overall. That makes its legacy extra special and it certainly delivers on that even moreso for fans.

After the last film Adonis Creed (Michael B Jordan) reigns as world boxing heavyweight champion. A short filler fight is witnessed as he defends his title. What any Rocky film is however is who the villain is. The series has had mixed results on this from icons like Apollo Creed and Clubba Lang to misfires like Tommy Gunn and whoever generic actual athletees were fought in the past few modern films. One perhaps stands as the greatest of all in Ivan Drago(Dolph Lundgren) who's take in Rocky IV was menacing as it was a cheesy reflection of the cold war soviet Russian era. He positions his son Viktor(Florian Munteanu, an actual boxer once again) to get revenge on Creed and Rocky Balboa(Sylvester Stallone) after killing Adonis' father many years ago.

This aspect is one of the strongest of the film. It gives it a sense of legacy and connection to the franchise even more than the first Creed. Lundgren's Drago is as menacing as he was in the 80s even without the backing of the USSR. Just as the palette of the film is its a more modern, gritty real take on the character and it totally works. Munteanu's Viktor is pretty great not just as a huge physique but as a acting performance too especially with his father. Any quality villain has a bit of sympathy and this family has their arc amidst their schemes. One only wishes there was even a bit more of it and confrontation between Rocky / Ivan but it comes in moments.

Stallone's Rocky has even more of a main role this time as well despite that. His rapport with Adonis is great and one would hope for perhaps another Oscar nod. He goes through some inspirational and emotional stuff without ever setting foot in the ring. There's ties to Adrian and his family even moreso than the first (although at times familiar) and he manages to crack in some occasional dry humor too. The script for everyone is great if at times cheesy. That's what one kind of wants however.

Jordan's Adonis Creed is also a highlight again. Through boxing and training he gets immensely battered and has challenges both physical and emotional. He packs some raw emotion that is what he's best at in his performances. There's some fantastic stuff behind the scenes with his marriage and parenting challenges with girlfriend / wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) . Thompson's Bianca can be artistical and inspiring although she is along with Adonis' mother Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad) as supporting cast level of involvement that mostly cheers, understandably. There's not many other players although the bit supporters of villainous promoter Buddy Marvell (Russel Hornsby) and Creed's father's trainer's son Little Duke Evers (Wood Harris) have their dramatic moments.

Now acclaimed Ryan Coogler did not direct this or be involved in any way although the person this time Steven Caple Jr does a great impression. There's some fantastic shots especially while boxing with some neat use of first person and slow motion. It feels like one is right in the ring with a modern crisp sheen to everything. The training can get a little ridiculous at times but is visually interesting for the most part. Note must be made for Ludwig Goransson's score as it joins some rap songs. It's emotional, feels filled piano and orchestra with some classic Rocky thrown in at great times. This music takes the drama side of things into truly wonderful territory.

There definitely is a sense of closure to the film if it is Stallone's last take on it. It manages to be a great modernization of the Drago conflict through its revenge and personal stake. There's great boxing, great emotion, great fan tribute and humor. It is long but overall pretty worth it. One must not mind the cheese that exists. That's exactly what it delivers on. Who knows if there's a future but one wouldn't mind and at the same time what a final blow it is . 8.7 out of 10

Ralph Breaks The Internet Review

Ralph Breaks The Internet
Directors: Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
Cast Headliners: John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P Henson, many many others
Original Release Date: November 21st, 2018

2012's Wreck It Ralph was not only a great Disney animated CGI film but it finally gave the world what was perhaps one of the best video game movies. That's because it managed to pay tribute , properly, to some classic arcade and retro games in its colorful, heartwarming and funny journey. Ralph Breaks The Internet only dips a bit more into more games(perhaps a bit disappointingly for those who wanted a sequel) and for the most part focuses on a new cyber realm: the modern day internet. On the surface it frightens of something shallow and “meme” filled like some animated peers but actually this book should not be judged by its cover. It's actually a solid followup that goes deeper on the laughs and lessons just as much as the visuals and scope. One must have to buy into the social media and websit conceit however.

It's surprising how much of the worlds of the first film are seen again. Titular hero-and-villain Wreck-It Ralph(John C Reilly) still hangs out in the arcade after dark with the famous likes of Street Fighter's Zangief and Sonic the Hedgehog between seeing friends old in Fix-It Felix(Jack McBrayer) or newer in Vanellope Sweetz(Sarah Silverman) and Sgt.Calhoun(Jane Lynch) at places like Tapper's Root Beer bar, Tron light cycles(!), or the sugary racing land of Sugar Rush. However this idyllic life goes awry once an accident causes the arcade's owner to purchase a replacement part on the arcade's new internet router. Ralph and Vanellope go to this mysterious new world to find the part themselves and adventures ensue.

If the first film and opening and sideline of here are “Video Game Toy Story” this film is of course “Internet Toy Story”. In the colorful, imaginative world of the net are hundreds of millions of avatars representing users in a clever way. There's also personifications and “buildings” of popular services like Amazon, Ebay (or “eboy” as Ralph charmingly calls it) , and social media “Buzztube”. Characters are met like the “Searchbar” librarian Knowsmore (Alan Tudyk villian of the first film here as someone else!), social media empire queen Yassss(Tarji P Henson), spam scammer JP Spamley (Bill Hader), and even another game world in the fierce Slaughter Race with key figure Shank (Gal Gadot) .

Even with the very millenial theme the larger list of world gives some variety in visuals and ambiance. The animated CGI graphics are of course colorful and lush given that its Disney itself with directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston having some nice bigger shots. It's also neat, and (purposefully used in what's some of the best sequences) that something like Slaughter Race has such a gritty real look even beyond Hero's Duty of the first film. It's entertaining to see a action-movie, “Grand Theft Auto/ massive multiplayer online ” esque game contrasted with the likes of Ralph and friends. The other internet sites are more of a bright futuristic look but the human avatars have a neat almost retro, “Inside Out” type design to them. It is a step forward, to an extent, for these visuals if anything.

The plot has its ups and downs both for twists as well as for quality. It becomes a road trip before being tangled up in drama between a couple locations which reminds of how the last film felt the same way. One could only imagine a world where they tried to go even further. However that may be for good reason as there's some decent stuff in the main Ralph / Vanellope plot that would be detracted by their being too much else going on(and not much does with the arcade folk of Felix, Calhoun, and Sonic getting just some gag lines).

Once again the acting highlight is shared between Reilly's Ralph and Silverman's Vanellope. Ralph has some humor and growth in his dumbness. In turn one thought Vanellope may have reached her closure in the first but she has even more of a journey here. She has a rapport with Gadot's Shank that's very important to the movie although everything's to a relatively simple family level. Gadot's Shank has her charm but ends up being , coincidentally or perhaps not , like her Fast and the Furious work than Wonder Woman but it's all in the ballkpark. Seriously that music number may make it all worth it. Henson's Yass , Hader's Pimley, and Tudyk's Knowsmore have their chuckles but primarily serve exposition. However a new cast is always welcomed. There's also the actually brief appearance of a "Oh My Disney World" with an insane amount of animated, Star Wars, Marvel , and etc logoes and characters mostly used for jokes but that's best reserved for surprises if one hasn't seen the commercials. It must be said that it was very neat to get the original Disney Princesses back from their actresses as brief as they are.  

    That's what the movie is with not much more to say or detract. It's a voyage into a net world filled with some laughs and action with a lot of charm (and the occasional tear) along the way. Nothing is too new or mindblowing but fans of the first would like this or due to its nature even those who haven't seen. Who knows how it will hold up as the decades progress however but seize the zeitgeist parodying moment of it. 8.4 out of 10

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald
Director: David Yates
Cast Headliners: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, too many attempted others
Original Release Date: November 16th, 2018

Get ready for many more of these since it's another 2 years and the first sequel , next installment of the Fantastic Beasts saga (with many more to go...) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald continues this prequel Harry Potter tale by fully unleashing the villian and taking things to darker, more complicated places while introducing further. It's got the staples fans of the magic will like but it also strongly asks the question “did we need 5 films?”. Prepare for a lot of set up but also a lot of meandering in its own plot.

A semi-exciting opening sequence(more on this below but action is rare) shows the escape of the titular evil overlord Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) in 1927 from his confines, lieu-of disguised identity, He flees to Paris, France to begin building his evil army. Meanwhile in Britain the plight of protagonist and creature collector Newt Scamander(Eddie Redmayne) is followed as he faces the consequences of the first film. A larger cast is met as his serious , devoted Auror government agent older brother Theseus (Callum Turner) is met along his fiancee (and Newt's former crush) Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz). Elsewhere familiar heroes have their adventures such as Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) re-uniting with normal, Muggle “No-Maj” love Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and the investigations of Newt's deuteragonist and possible love Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) into the location of the surviving Credence Barbone (Ezra Miller). There's yet even more characters of some note (which wouldn't be a problem as the Harry Potter films always did it well but were aided by a more straightforward plot than here which is to its moderate detriment) in cursed to be a snake (eventually Voldemort's), were-wolf -style, “Maledictus” Nagini (Claudia Kim) and the mysterious vigilante wildcard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) among-st others not even worth mentioning.

These are many names but little impact is felt from them or most things in general. Somehow Redmayne's Newt is even less inspiring or charming in this movie and is perhaps even forgotten with the ruckus of everything else going on around him further than the first film although he has his moments of problem-solving and awkward charm. This “middling and forgotten” nature rubs off on his co-stars in Waterston's Tina and Sudol's Queenie even more with the crew mostly just walking between the expository events of others with only seldom effort gone into making them franchise-defining. Fogler's Jacob is once again a comedic highlight although it's not much we haven't seen before (how many times does he need to yell “AHA!”...it worked in 2016 more..) but although his presence wasn't technically needed due to circumstances it seems he's along for the ride now. Miller's Credence faces even further revelations and personal stake into things but at the same time does even less aside a tense moment or two. He's one of the only ones to really do things with Kim's Nagini as they're from a (visually neat) magical circus. She is a just as and even more tortured outcast but she really doesn't do much either.

It's amongst the other newcomers that “don't really do much” happens the most. Turner's Theseus may be hinted to set up some family drama but as many things it's never really delivered upon. This happens slightly moreso with Kravitz's Leta who actually is a big part of what the movie ends up being about but it has some cheese in its writing that makes one question where Rowling's golden talent has gone in the past few years. It's a lot of explanations and plot holes for things that happened in the past and the audience is attempted to feel sorrow or inspiration but due to the delivery in plot structure it comes across as confusing or dull more than anything. This is not the epic prophecy of the Boy Who Lived, at least not yet with much work to be done to make its saga worthy.

The two highlight performances and aspects are the “big bad” in Grindelwald and the “big good” in the exciting return of a younger Albus Dumbledore(Jude Law). These two characters are so connected in lore and to what this prequel saga will end up being it makes since extra effort was placed into them. Law's Albus may remind viewers of Jude Law being Jude Law but that's not a bad thing as he brings a charming wise presence with some more youthful swagger (reminder that he's got to get 70 years older by the time of Harry Potter). There's a touch of the old man's slow tone to him but otherwise he's a bit of something new but that works. Unfortunately, he's not really involved that much in the plot of this film besides some check-ins. Those check-ins and flashbacks to Hogwarts castle (including with the classic music) will bring much warm feelings of nostalgia and perhaps there could be more of that ahead...or should have been more here either. Depp's Grindelwald himself doesn't have enough screentime either for a movie with his name. However he's another standout being absolutely evil, vile, and as the best villains are he kind of has a speck of a point to him. It's only at times he appears but it's usually a good thing especially when he performs ...crimes. Get ready for that showdown where, like the last and most Potter films, things ramp up in the climax. If he continues like this he may give Voldemort a run for icon status although now it's too hard to say.

While the characters, writing, and plot is all over the place and slightly half-baked the sights, sounds, and fantasy nature mostly deliver on what fans would want. Director David Yate's camera work is solid (although perhaps less so than his Potter peak) and there's some nice production design for the Parisian aesthetic although the fact that it's set there doesn't make much of a difference apart from accents on henchmen and citizens . It's visually an even darker movie than the last one at times being too much so. This is a movie that's a bit less about the “fantastic beast” mythological animals themselves but there is some cool designs and excitement with them. As with many things here there's not enough of them or action in general. At times however the CGI can feel like an overload and to a hollower quality than both the Potter Wizarding World before it and other blockbusters today. This may be due to its handling of entirely greenscreen sets(such as Newt's magical creature box which still is conceptually cool) with it working better with the use of actual sets. Composer James Newton Howard's music fits the magical Potter stereotype although there's an occasional great memorable line to add to the melodrama (even moreso than the first Beasts film). For fans just wanting more wizard adventures it does that for feel and tone even if what's happening in that world can hurt one's mind from trying to comprehend.

As a whole this film takes some steps back or stands its ground for every one that it does upward. It's neat to see the saga go to bigger and darker places but perhaps its trying to be too big at once or instead it's that the places its going so far have mixed landing for excitement. It's a very slow and complex burner of a mystery perhaps taking too much influence from JK Rowling's recent detective novels than her fantasy best. However those small bits of action, humor, and characters make things a bit worth it for fans invested in the Potterverse. Especially those invested in this prequel epoch. Hopefully the future can learn from the mistakes and deliver on the setup done for the REAL crimes next time as there's surely more to be done...and stopped. Don't commit this one again. 7.35 out of 10