Arrival Review

Arrival
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast Headliners: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forrest Whitaker
Original Release Date: November 11th, 2016

                 Without much prior pomp or circumstance, Arrival … arrived into theaters to resounding critical praise. Based upon Ted Chiang’s short story, the movie is about an aliens coming to modern day of our planet. But unlike many films of its type, there is no laser battles or an immediate race to save the world. The film is a puzzle to be solved through a philosophical journey that is not without its sequences of awes and excitement. This all happens from an interesting lens and logical perspective that is not often seen in movies of the genre.

                The film follows from day one as 12 “shells” (black obelisk type floating alien mega aircraft) descend onto the world in various locations. The world feels a sense of panic but moreso in the form of uncertain dread.  Into this situation, Dr.Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a brilliant linguist is tapped by the US military under Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to solve the mystery of the shells and the alien organisms within.  
                The film does a fantastic job at creating a mysterious atmosphere as the shells and their denizens are met and explored. The majority of the film only, and effectively, takes place at one shell site in Montana.  The alien ship feels very real inside despite its almost weird magical properties. So too are the alien “heptapods” mysterious in every encounter, awe inspiringly giant squids that moreso invoke beautiful awe than any more than minimal terror.

                The movie’s themes tackle some fascinating and likely true points. If aliens came to our world, how would nations react? How would human beings react to literally meeting intelligent beings from another world? There’s are explored with deft and sense.  But the core, intriguing idea is to involve language. Whereas many sci-fi films would tap some form of military person or special agent, Adam’s Louise solves the important process of language through surreal visual puzzles. This is a true concern not just for extra-terrestrial cultures but for those on our own world. The movie has powerful themes of the importance of communication.  It’s very neat to see how the puzzles are solved, and while it can be a bit repetitive and lulls in the middle as compared to the first expedition and exciting climax, it does make one think and go “ah!”

                It’s a joy to see Adam’s performance as Louise, as she brings sincerity and wit to the role. The work takes a toll on her, and we see glimpses of lost loved ones to raise the dramatic stakes. Likewise, Renner’s Ian offers slight comic relief and plentiful friendly charm and answers as he works alongside. Most of the cast isn’t anyone notable within the film itself or in casting. Government tie ins in Whitaker’s Colonel or CIA Agent Halper (Michael Stuhlberg) make things serious but don’t show up often. The same can be said for the slightly, but perhaps purposefully disconnected, “antagonist “ in China’s General Shang (Tzi Ma).  The movie does well when it focuses on the core group of the two main leads and their aliens.

                The deep narrative gets better and better as the film goes on. Director Denis Villenueve weaves together news footage, CGI yet realistic creations, flashbacks, and other time lapses to tell the tale. The music also adds well to the ambience, sounding alien in its use of vocals with its orchestrations.  It has a solid level of cinematography and visual craft. However by the end, its twist have an emotional resonance but in retrospect is derivative of such works as those by Christopher Nolan (particularly Interstellar and Inception) but this doesn’t reduce their drama.

                For a film about the language of aliens, the movie tells a very philosophical tale of the relationship of humans.  It’s a mostly unique and interesting ride, and for fans of the genre is worth the time if they have it to spare.  8.45 out of 10

Doctor Strange Review

Doctor Strange
Director: Scott Derickson
Cast Headliners: Benedict Cumberbatch, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Chiwefel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong
Original Release Date: November 4th, 2016

       Just as with 2015's Ant-Man (and to a extent some of the supporting players of this year's earlier Captain America Civil War), the MCU is dipping deep, deep into obscure comic lore. It's surreal (no pun intended) that Dr.Strange has finally gotten a film. The Sorceror Supreme himself, master of magic and dimensions..... somehow exists in this same world but after the past few cosmic adventures, that's no surprise. Benedict Cumberbatch leads his first truly blockbuster film in the lead role, filled to the brim with action and magic, ups and downs.

The movie starts with an often seen trope of (Thor 2, Avengers 1) background setup and action. Quickly and effectively if bit chaotically showing the motivations of villain Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a fallen dark former apprentice of The Ancient One(Tilda Swinton). After giving audiences a crazy surreal taste (we'll get to more on that later) of the zany magic dimensional combat of the film, things come to a slightly drastic tonal shift.

As with most origin movies, and at first the film falls victim to its tropeyness and stereotypical flow/feel (ahem see Iron Man 1 / Batman Begins did this long first) we meet the civilian life of neurosurgeon Dr.Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who needs no secret identity with what he can do. His arrogance and slight humor at first are decent alongside partner and slight love interest fellow doctor Christine Palmer(Rachel McAdams). A tragic event ruins the use of Strange's hands, leading him to spiritual journey of rebirth and healing.

Much like his character arc, Cumberbatch's performance takes some getting used to and warming up but improves by the end. Although it's an extremely questionable decision, the actor trades his trademark rich British accented natural voice for a very fake sounding American accent. When he's dealing with his doctor prologue stuff, it makes the film feel a bit like a cheap ER show with nobodies. He only improves as the situations get more fantastical. After the event, there are many deep, emotional dramatic scenes which Benedict is great in. And he even becomes decently witty and fearsome in his abilities that one forgets his accent entirely as he becomes “Superheroic” and blends into the tapestry of all. One cheers for him in the end, and will be left anxiously waiting for more of his intelligent witty charm and awesome magic force/dimension warping abilities in future Marvel films(seriously, he makes Vision and Scarlet Witch seem like smalltimers).

The supporting cast is mixed degrees of great to forgettable. McAdam's Christine never quite gets too emotional, deep, or more than some “oh this is all so crazy” reactions towards the weaker end of the spectrum of MCU love interests. As too is Mikkelsen's Kaecilius. Sure him and his evil minions look cool and fierce but there's very little motivation besides some random dialogue bits and he barely gets to interact with the main cast, or even have screentime at all. He's vague , generic, and and decently evil and dangerous in fights but far from anything more than a blip in the film. Consider him at the tier of say Malekith from Thor 2 (though luckily the film is much more varied and quality crafted) and his plans/scenes with his ultimate master Dormammu(also Cumberbatch, Hobbit trilogy style) are more effectively evil.

It's fortunate that once Strange finds the place of magic he finds the film's best supporters as well. Swinton's The Ancient One is a great performance, and a powerful and mysterious character. As always she lives this role,transforms into something one of a kind and fills the movie with deeper, spiritual moments which might inspire even the audience. Mordo(Chiwefel Ejiofor) is a cool and tough teacher of magic, and his character goes through a fascinating arc fitting of the actor's usual intense performance. Wong(Benedict Wong) leads to most of the film's great use of humor in his interactions with Strange, though the film has some pretty solid writing overall.

The story has some really clever scenes of dialogue and events to make viewers understand all this crazyness. Strange's arc of redemption and growth is cool to see unfold, and while it's noticeably too rushed between when he is still learning to going about saving the world it's cool to see the stakes unfold and learn about the deep crazy lore.

Which leads to the highest, majestic highlight of the film... the otherworldly, other dimensionally CGI efffects, panaromas, and visuals. There's so many scenes that use fantastic special effects that are larger than life but it works. There's scenes that are indescribable, setting a bar for psychelia like never before, right out of the 1970s comic glory days. These mind bending “visions” and magic reality bending translate over to the action scenes as well. These scenes are peppered in through the earlier parts but once they get picking up the end is quite amazing and intense. If held back a bit by Marvel film trademarks, the action is, like Ant-Man and some others, wholly, intensely, and greatly unique and “strange” apart in its greatness. Director Scott Derickson must be praised on that.

It takes a bit to get going, and makes some mistakes in character usage and logic. But the great aspects are really good and sets up a benchmark for wanting more in the future. It's a wild , magic ride very worth seeing on the big screen, if the wacky wizard dimensions premise seems appealing. Marvel has another solid one, and although it doesn't rewrite the book its a fun ride, and to a fan of the character a pretty solid adaptation. 8.6 out of 10  

The Girl on the Train Review

The Girl on the Train
Director: Tate Taylor
Cast Headliners: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux
Original Release Date: October 7th, 2016

                Much like its heroine, The Girl on The Train is very clear and good in some aspects but gets hazy in quality on others.  It offers a nuanced dark mystery thriller that excels at times but like a train loop it’s about, it can be repetitive and drawn out. But it offers some pretty unique and intriguing aspects in its experience.

                It’s a bit hazy to get of sense of things before truths are revealed, but the film follows the depressive life of Rachel (Emily Blunt), an alcoholic divorcee who eavesdrops on lives she sees from the train. As with many films, this interesting premise is slightly dipped into before its main plot arc takes over.  Throughout it though Blunt shows herself, as often is the case in her roles, to be one of the film’s strongest aspects.  Blunt’s Rachel, a bit unique amongst many protagonists of films like this, is not the best person. She can, often due to her alchoholism, edgy and mean and even a bad person. But the film makes one root and even feel bad for her at times. This is doubly so because of Blunt’s intense, emotional portrayal from sadness to curiosity to rage. She becomes a mysterious vigilante every bit as curious as the events around her.

                Events transpire which bring her into a love… geometric shape (without giving too much away, as twists always make thrillers all the more interesting) of Megan(Haley Bennett), Anna(Rebecca Ferguson), Tom (Justin Theroux), and Scott(Luke Evans) who are all neighbors in a perfectly typical but underlyinglly dark suburbia.  The supporting cast , like Blunt, is for the most part full of great performers if less so than the main star. Everyone in the film is flawed too. Whether it’s Bennett’s lost Megan, Evan’s charismatic yet grumpy Scott, or Theroux’s friendly yet stern Tom.  Ferguson’s Anna is less notable though competent.  Additional minor character’s decently fill things out like the no nonsense Detective (Allison Janney) or Dr.Kamal(Edgar Ramirez).
                The tone and atmosphere of the film is fantastic as well. This is a very different piece for director Tate Taylor compared to his past work such as The Help. He steps into helming a dark film like this just fine. The visual direction is great, with close views and angles ramping up the always present mystery and occasional intensity.  The score of the film is at times not present but when it is its moody and very good. It presumingly adds to the adaptation of the novel this is originally based upon.
                For all the film’s strengths it certainly isn’t perfect. The plot offers surprises that are at times shocking but also telegraphed a mile awhile. And when it does reveal things, it repeats these revelations again and again. The pacing is also a bit of a ricekty roller coaster, at times somber and emotional but other times pulse pounding. This inconsistency is sparse however for a otherwise good ride.
                The Girl On The Train may appear to be very typical for the genre, but has enough good and even unique aspects to make it stand out.  It’s a slow burner, but offers rewards for waiting it out and characters to like.  7.65 out of 10

                

Sausage Party Review

Sausage Party
Directors: Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan
Cast Headliners: Seth Rogen, Kirsten Wiig, Michael Cera, many others
Original Release Date: August 12th, 2016

(NOTE: Once again, 3 weeks later oh my... life has been complicated lately. I promise the releases I see ahead will have a faster schedule... )


On the surface, Sausage Party may appear to be a crude bad idea. Seth Rogen and his comedy crew making an inappropriate CGI comedy about talking food. But actually, its an idea that works to some good laughs and some good ideas within if held back by some of its initial limitations. In a good way, it's exactly what it says on the package, pun intended.

Things kick off in an animated world where one can see both humans and more importantly the perspectives of “living” food they eat (though they are for the most part unaware...unless one has seen trailers revealing a fun twist). Through a mostly saccharine but subtle dark musical song we learn that the food await the day they will be “chosen by the gods” and leave the store. It's an almost Pixar take on things, but of course they don't remain happy forever. The initial crew is of hot dogs Frank (Seth Rogen), Barry (Michael Cera), and Carl(Jonah Hill) and Frank's logically bun romantic crush Brenda (Kristen Wiig). Events transpire to them being separated that starts a quest across both the grocery world and the horrible truths of the outside.

The most surprising thing of Sausage Party is that it has a pretty solid storyline with several side-arcs, character development, and occasional deeper allegories (all within the Rogen-level of dumb of course though so things don't get too heady). But there is some exciting twists and action and actions. The movie does some really humorous and neat takes on the food concept with different themed areas, such as liquour aisles being party zones and Mexican food being in an old fashioned style desert. The stereotypes are sometimes crude but also clever interesting characters, such as humorously and truly at war Kareem Abdul Lavash (David Krumholtz) and Sammy Bagel JR ( a humorous and surprisingly unrecognizable voice of Edward Norton) or Teresa del Taco (Salma Hayek). It's often exciting to see the fresh ideas and takes it constantly introduces.

Truly the voice cast is a highlight as well. Rogen and Wiig's lead both have many great lines and range, and the mentioned supporting cast brings great effort alongside bits by the jerk Douche(Nick Kroll) , Firewater (Bill Hader), Mr.Grits(Craig Robinson) and many more. Often its hard to tell but they all bring a pretty good level of talent.

Besides the food world building and adventure the other strong aspect is often its humor. It definitely, definitely uses its R-rating for jokes trending sexual, substance related, and racial making the film adult in both its subject mater as well as humor. This can also mean at times the film becomes dumb, but for the most part there's many silly laughs whether edgy or slapstick.

For all the good elements it is a shame that the animation is very inconsistent. Some of the food animations are very good and settings, but sometimes thing look “Bargain quality” This is especially noticeable with the human characters who look jarringly worse than their food counterparts. But this movie isn't about looking nice so its slightly understandable compromise.

Overall , it fits right into the comedic staples of Seth Rogen and once again writing partner Evan Goldberg delivered this time through an effective edgy CGI food lens. There's many dumb good jokes and dumb bad jokes and some smart ideas alongside some “Really now” stupid ones. It might not always look pretty, but it offers plentiful dark laughs and even some adventure. 7.8 out of 10

Suicide Squad Review

Suicide Squad
Director: David Ayer
Cast Headliners: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jared Leto, many others
Original Release Date : August 5th, 2016

   ( NOTE: Over 3 weeks after release … oh my goodness so late. I apologize, life's been wacky of late...but definitely wanted to get my thoughts in on this important step in the DC verse).

The new DC film universe has been, to say the least, a less than perfect attempt to emulate what so many other franchises are doing and mix its heroes. While the general public and the big comic fans may be well used to and excited for the idea of the foundations of the Justice League to be set, the execution is not tonally right on the mark. The previous two DC films, directed by Zack Snyder, have been received in varying ways, with his take that is simultaneously philosophical and larger than life not creating a fan out of everyone. Suicide Squad is the first movie both without Snyder in the director's seat (instead with Fury's David Ayer at the helm) and for the most part moving the focus from Batman and Superman to something theoretically fresh: antihero supervillians. Here's how it turned out.
The film takes place in the aftermath of Batman V Superman, an aspect which is smartly used as an initial root cause for its events but otherwise is not mentioned very much. Government official Amanda Waller(Viola Davis) seeks to create Task Force X, also known as the “Suicide Squad” of supervillians to do black ops missions or tackle potential Superman-level threats. The team consists of assassin for hire Deadshot(Will Smith), clown maniac punk Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) girlfriend of the not-in-the-team the Joker (Jared Leto), beastly Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), wisecraking Aussie thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), fire powered gangster El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and rope expert Slipknot (Adam Beach). They are supported by the government affiliated expert soldier Rick Flagg( Joel Kinnaman), Japanese swordswoman Katana( Karen Fukuhara), and dark witch Enchantress(Caradelevingine).

It's a film that features DC's largest “ensemble” of characters to date, and perhaps even moreso than many other films. It feels in a way like something such as The Dirty Dozen or The Expendables or the newest Fast and Furious films, though its much more the latter two than the first one in quality. There's a lot of characters and some shine but others fade in the grand tapestry of things . Will Smith and Margot Robbie have had increasingly profilic careers as of late and been alongside each other before, and so it makes sense that they are the mostly shining stars of the picture. Smith's Deadshot is as solidly funny, slickly cool, and even has a slight bit of the charm and emotional heart of Smith's past work. His smartass attitude often delights and makes it the best “Will Smith movie” in years. Robbie's Harley Quinn is as great or possibly even the film's best. She very effectively captures the classic comic charm and manages to certainly make her manic character feel right from the pages. Her design might not be 100% accurate but besides the main heroes of Batman/Superman little is but in terms of personality and dark laughs she carries the show. Perhaps even moreso than her “Mista J” connected to her origin.

Whenever the Joker is in anything its a big deal, and each actor brings something a little new. Jared Leto's performance as the Clown Prince of Crime is very much a mashup of Jack Nicholson's and Heath Ledger's evoking their style but far from their heights with some Jim Carrey's The Mask thrown as well. Take those and add in a “realistic” menacing gang lord angle, and it's...an interesting take. There are moments which deliver on the Joker mania box. But for someone so connected to Harley Quinn, he and Robbie have some decent moments that fall victim to editing. His appearances are far less than trailers imply, and are mostly restricted to flashbacks which apparently are mostly victim to the cutting room floor. It's an unfortunate trend in Hollywood lately, but while the edits are obvious it does give an reason not to entirely dismiss this Joker. We need to see more, and one will kind of want to since while he doesn't make an impression, one think he maybe can more if he gets to do some more with Batman (There may be at least one appearance by Ben Affleck in this film, short but sweet..)

The other characters are at most decent. Davis' Waller is greatly fierce and at home from the classic media if expected. Kinnaman's Flagg much the same, offering his own source of humor in his seriousness. Characters like Slipknot, Croc, Boomerang, and Katana exist merely for a cool moment or joke but fade to the background. Its surprising that Hernandez's El Diablo has qualities that rival Deadshot's for humor and emotion, making him one of the film's unexpected standouts as well. The villain's identity is an obvious hint, but they are nothing more than a generic evil. The film bills itself as “ the worst heroes ever”, but they are not all the way the best worst heroes with those afromented exceptions althouth the movie makes good use of the dark, edgy villian angle for some lines and themes.

The ingredients are there for what should be some dark cheesy fun but it is prevented from being something greatly unique by its own unique issues. Characters aside, the plot is very simple and very silly. The reason things happen make Snyder's film look like Nolan's when it come's to the way events narratively unfold. The movie also attempts to make use of pop and rock songs to ironically lighten the mood, but it worked so well in Guardians of the Galaxy (an obvious inspiration) because of its placement and balance. Here it feels like someone left an iTunes playlist covering the remnants of what could have been a great movie. Because Ayer's direction can be felt from the visual shots and really fun great action when there isn't some often sub-quality dialogue and pacing at play.

This movie has taken many elements and thrown them into a blender, but it is prevented from execution on what is objectively a good idea of anti-heroes form the comics from some questionable editing and studio involvement. It's great to see these characters for the most part make their debut into this new DC universe, but it's not too surprising of an adventure they have to undergo. But the good is good, and the potential is felt that maybe they could be better used someday... hopefully. A DC or superhero blockbuster fan will certainly have their fun though for better or worse. 7.95 out of 10

Star Trek Beyond Review

Star Trek Beyond
Director: Justin Lin
Cast Headliners: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Idris Elba
Original Release Date : July 22nd, 2016

 Much like the crew in the plot of Star Trek Beyond, what does the film do when it does not have JJ Abrams in the director's helm, as he is only producer here? Well it can be assumed even without watching this that the crew finds a way to heroically perverse to great success, and the same can be said for this film. Justin Lin does a solid replacement job, and for good or less so the entire cast brings that trademark Star Trek feel for a fun if mostly typical adventure.

The film picks up three years into the five year mission of the reboot Enterprise crew. Captain Kirk(Chris Pine) grows slightly tired of life in the stars, and certainly enjoys the chance to reach a rest point at Yorktown space station with his usual crew of Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy(Karl Urban), Uhura(Zoe Saldana), Sulu(John Cho), Scotty(Simon Pegg), and Chekov(the late Anton Yelchin). It's always nice to see the world of ST fleshed out a bit more, though a mysterious visitor brings the crew and ship to another wild jungle planet and the space around it as they go against the fearsome Krall (Idris Elba).

It's a pretty standard formula of good and evil and doomsday devices by this point. It does not bring much new or timeline crossing elements to the picture, and does not get much darker than the tense thriller angle of Into Darkness. But it's a action packed, fun, laugh filled adventure that delivers a a expected but still tasty slice of the goodness of this franchise. The humor and writing are one of the highlights, with many unexpected pairings on their own missions when never knew they wanted but turn out swell, such as Spock/McCoy and (thankfully here a deserving final role) in Chekov/Kirk or the slightly less featured than usual Uhura/Sulu. Whether it's from the charismatic core crew giving humor or just the way scenes often cleverfully unfold there's plenty of chuckles, cheers, and charming heart to be found.

The returning hits their usual notes on par but there is the moderately big new characters as well. Jaylah(Sofia Boutella) is a local of the enemy world and events bring her to ally with the Enterprise crew. She is a great addition in many ways. Boutella never once comes off as anything but genuine with her alien makeup visage, and brings an exotic warrior attitude that leads to humorous moments and cool action. She has a solid core role in the plot and one eagerly anticipates her being in more potential sequels. Meanwhile however Elba's alien warlord Krall is just about decent or so. Purposefully at times hard to understand vocally, his attitudes and motivations never rise above much more than the simpler of the original television series' foes. His backstory is almost an attempt at the tragedy of Nero or the empathy of Khan, but coming from his heavily makeupped/masked visage it's harder to take seriously other than offer a hand to some action and dramatic dialogues.

The action and visual spectacle delivers very well as usual for the series. Justin Lin's trademark explosive style from the Fast and Furious series rarely jumps into the too-crazy of that world (But sometimes does) though otherwise it feels just as it should. Some sequences are a bit hard to follow, but both in space and on ground there are multiple exciting sequences that make the sometimes too long downtime solidly worth it.

Overall Star Trek Beyond is “another Star Trek” in its good and bad. But when it's this legendary franchise, with these actors that is a fine enough thing. It makes some missteps, has some good and ok new additions and ideas. To a fan though, it will bring a solid experience no matter what it has or who's in the director's chair. 8 out of 10

The Infiltrator Review

The Infiltrator
Director: Brad Furman
Cast Headliners: Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt
Original Release Date : July 13th, 2016

                The Infiltrator has two strong aspects going into it. It features a starring role in Bryan Cranston as undercover Customs agent Robert Mazur, and it follows the story of the major 1980s sting operation against Pablo Escobar’s operation in Florida/ the USA. While there’s some good performances and directing to be found, they are at times buried in a sea of other things.

                Cranston’s Mazur is great. In every performance he brings a range, craft, and intensity that always makes him a highlight. When it comes to this film he delivers, and while the material at times is repetitive he is convincing. Especially solid when looking at Mazur’s undercover identity “Bob Musella”. Much like a Heisenberg once upon a time, Cranston is a chameleon able to shift through different situations. Although it’s in his usual style, and almost an inverse of that character’s role, he is a entertaining lead for the film.

                The rest of the cast is for the most part good. The shaky interactions between Mazur and his partner Emir Abreu(John Leguizamo) are pretty decent, although when the latter goes off on his own Leguizamo does not quite carry scenes the same way.  Bit players such as Jason Isaacs as Mark Jackowski, Said Taghmaoui as Amjad Awan, Olympia Dukakis as Aunt Vicky, Juliet Aubrey as Evelyn Mazur are other moderately decent standouts in a sea of even more bit players.

                The film meanders at times, likely limited to its adherence to reality, but a strong aspect comes from the fake romance of Mazur with his “fiancé” Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) and the drug powerhouse Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt) and his wife Gloria (Elena Anaya).  Kruger is solid in a way matching her chemistry with Cranston’s Mazur, both being undercover agents. And Bratt is really good in a sympathetic way, as is his love/hate relationship with Mazur.

                The directing by Brad Furman is competent, with the 1980s singing through in musical  choices. Things get intense when they need to be. At times things can be a bit shaky, but it provides a decent backdrop in some exotic locales for a very dialogue heavy slow burner.

                Ultitmately its slow burn , fact heavy nature will be what one either likes or doesn’t. There’s action at times, but its in a long process with a lot of buildup and little sting. But the Cranston is good when the Cranston is good. 7.65 out of 10